In Pursuit
by Sarge's Girls
Summary: A normal night out changes everything for two innocent sisters, who stumble upon something that will change their lives forever. Two brave U.S. marshals have to keep them hidden and keep them safe. How far are they willing to go to do what's right? Are the consequences worth it all? AH/Canon Couples/Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**Jenny: Yay for our second story! Thanks for coming back on the crazy train with me, Deb. :D**

**Deb: LOL I'm not sure we ever get off that train. But I love that we have a new story! :)**

**Jenny: Hah! Me, too. :) I know they want to get right on with the story, so we'll try to keep this brief...but we hope you guys fall in love with Marshalward like you did Sarge. Deb & I did, right?**

**Deb: Oh hell yes... Marshalward... O.o Wait...what was I saying? Oh, right... This will be a little different than Sarge...maybe a bit harsher, but as usual (and if you're used to me) there will be language and adults doing adult things and action. :) We totally need to give a BIG thanks to our beta (mskathy) & prereaders (Cara, inkedupmom, GooberLou, & Jules Twifanwesomesox), as well as Bethany & Mimi for the gorgeous banner.**

**So let's see. Notes on the new story...**

**1: Like Coming Home, Jenny wrote Bella's POV, while Deb wrote Edward's.**

**2: Unlike Coming Home, there will be both POVs combined in each chapter.**

**3: We'll be posting once a week on Sundays. No, begging & whining won't mean we post faster. ;) But reviews may mean teasers on Facebook & Twitter! ;)**

**4: We don't know anything more than what we've read online about the Witness Security Program and how that and the U.S. Marshal's Service works. And all we know about the law & court procedures, we got from reading & watching TV. So if you think we got something wrong, feel free to tell us...but it won't change anything with the story. We did the best we could trying to make it ALL plausible.**

**5: Yes, the story starts out with Marie & Mary, but if you can't figure it out, that is Bella & Alice. You'll see why in a few chapters.**

**6: Because we only want to state this once: We don't own Edward (unfortunately!), Bella, or the other usual cast of characters, but we do own the plot, the story, and a few random people throughout.**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 1**

**Marie POV**

"Oh, my God," Mary gasped, her hand over her heart as she laughed. "That guy was _hot!_ How could you stand leaving him sitting there like you did?"

I laughed, looping my arm through hers. "You know me, sweetie. He was only interested in what I was looking for – a quick romp in the storeroom in the back of the bar and a wave goodbye."

My sister smiled, although it had dimmed somewhat from a moment before.

I hated disappointing Mary, hated to see her upset, but it was what it was. I'd had a fantastic thirty minutes with Jacob – "Call me Jake," he'd said with a sexy smirk – back at the bar. He was a friend of the owner, a guy named Sam, both of them obviously Native American. Jacob was sexy, in a blue-collar sort of way – muscles and callouses from real work, not just the gym, straight dark hair that fell around his shoulders, and dark eyes. He'd been behind the bar when we got there and flirted as he served our drinks. Sam had finally told him to take a break, and Jacob had jumped at the chance to get me out on the dance floor. When he'd asked me to dance, I'd taken him up on the offer immediately.

By the time he pulled me into the back room, I'd been ready for anything he could give me – starting with his dick, which I'd promptly dropped to my knees to take into my mouth. He'd finally pulled me up before he came then and there, only to take me right up against the door, pounding into me hard until I came, screaming his name. He'd followed right behind, grunting out his orgasm with a weird noise that would have made me giggle if I hadn't just had the shit fucked out of me.

I wasn't necessarily any happier than I had been, but for another night, I'd kept my mind off Mike and phrases like _boring, staid, uptight,_ and my personal favorite: _frigid._

Mary finally spoke, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Well, you look like you had fun," she chirped, trying to sound upbeat as we walked down the block to the nearest subway station.

I smiled and squeezed her arm gently, telling her without words that I loved her.

It was late Friday night, closer to eleven o'clock instead of ten, and instead of heading home, we were heading to my office. On our way to the bar a couple of hours earlier, I'd realized I didn't have my cell phone with me. So Mary had said she didn't mind going to my office first before going home.

Mary and I shared a two bedroom loft apartment in Manhattan, just a few blocks from Columbia University. It wasn't huge, but it was in a great neighborhood and an easy ride on the subway to both the accounting firm where I worked and Mary's dance studio. We'd had many discussions about whether or not it was time for one of us to move out and find our own place, but we were both currently single, we enjoyed living together and seeing each other all the time outside of work, and it saved us money splitting the rent, so for now, we were staying put.

A shove to my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts again. "Sorry," I said, laughing.

"'S okay. But you have to wake up. Our stop's next."

I smiled, nodding that I'd heard her, and watched the walls of the subway tunnel pass by at fifty miles-per-hour.

When the subway slowed to a stop, the doors hissed open, and Mary and I were on our feet and out onto the platform within seconds. There was still a surprising number of people out and about at the late hour – then again, New York City never seemed to sleep, so I shouldn't really have been surprised.

"Want to stop for a coffee for me, tea for you after we get your phone?" Mary asked, matching me step for step as we climbed the stairs that would take us outside, pulling our jackets tighter around ourselves to ward off the chill from the spring air.

"Yeah, sure." I stepped around a small group of girls in their late teens before continuing. "That diner down the street from the office would be good."

She cheered playfully. "Good. I want a piece of their blueberry pie."

"Mmm, pie..." I moaned, thinking of the tart and sweet blueberries that Jack's Diner used in their pies.

We were still talking about the goodies we'd have after as we walked up to the small office building that housed the accounting firm of Denali and Associates. My boss, Eleazar Denali, had hired me right out of school. He wasn't a bad guy – he seemed rather boring most of the time – and I liked his wife Carmen, but their daughters, Tanya, Kate, and Irina, were all spoiled, pampered rich bitches. I avoided them at all costs when they came to visit "Daddy" at work.

As I let us in the back door to the building – it was closer to my office than the front door – I noticed a strange black SUV in the small parking lot. When I went to turn off the security alarm to the building, I noticed the light was already green, so I figured Eleazar was there late with a client.

"I think El is here," I whispered to Mary. "So let's stay quiet. I don't want to get roped into any work this weekend if I can avoid it."

She nodded, her eyes twinkling. Both of us knew how likely that possibility was if Eleazar caught me unaware... It had happened more than once over the last couple of years.

The sconces on the wall were on as we moved down the hall to my office, but the lights overhead were off. I saw a light through the crack under the door to Eleazar's office and nodded my head in that direction, holding my finger to my lips for Mary. She nodded again and waited quietly as I slid my key into my office door, opening it silently.

We had just stepped into the office when I heard raised voices coming from down the hall. I stopped, listening for a moment. I couldn't make out everything they were yelling, but I could clearly hear Eleazar's voice. Worried, I started to head out, but Mary grabbed my arm, shaking her head.

"No, wait," she whispered, pulling me farther into the dark office.

Just as I was about to shake her off, I heard two muted bangs in rapid succession. Having grown up with a policeman for a father, I recognized the sound right away.

_Gunshots._

There was a dull thud, like something heavy had fallen to the carpeted floor, and then another bang.

I could barely see Mary – the only light source at the moment was the moon shining through the window of my office and the lights coming in from the hall – but her eyes were wide with fright. Freaking out inside, I quickly but quietly closed my office door, holding the knob so it didn't click. Whoever had fired those shots would have seen my closed office door when they'd arrived, and if they exited the other office and saw it open, they would know we were there.

Once the door was closed, I grabbed Mary and we moved up to the window that looked out into the hall. Luckily, it was covered in blinds that were already closed. Each of us pulled two of the slats apart, just barely enough that we could see out.

Only a couple of minutes later, I heard the door down the hall open. Mary must have heard it, too, because she froze, squeezing my hand tightly in hers. We watched as two men passed in front of my window, neither glancing in our direction.

One was older, maybe in his early fifties, while the other was in his late thirties at most. The older man was tall with dark hair sprinkled with gray, and he was wearing a dark suit. The younger one was much bigger than the first, with dark, short-cropped hair and a big nose, and he was also wearing a suit.

I watched as the older man held up a gun; from the quick glance I got, it was a .45 of some kind, but whether it was a Colt, Glock, H&K, or something else, I couldn't tell.

"Get rid of this," the man ordered as he handed the gun to the muscle beside him – because that's what the younger man reminded me of.

"Yes, sir," Muscle-man said, taking the gun and sticking it into his inner jacket pocket.

I held my breath as they turned the corner and disappeared from my sight.

Finally, I looked over at Mary and saw that she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Gathering her into my arms, I held her tight. "Shh, Pix," I whispered, using the nickname I'd given her as a teenager – the shortened version of Pixie. It was something I hadn't called her in a while, and it pulled her out of wherever she was in her head. "We're okay. I'm right here."

It was only as I felt her hair dampen under my cheek that I realized I was crying, as well.

~oOo~

We were quiet for over ten minutes, neither of us moving. Finally, I knew we had to do something. What if Eleazar was still alive down the hall? What if the guys came back? I didn't want to be there if that happened.

"Come on," I said quietly. "We've got to go check on Eleazar."

Still looking frightened, Mary nodded, gripping my hand as I led her to my desk, where my phone was sitting right where I'd left it, and then over to the door, opening it as quietly as possible. I didn't bother shutting it behind us. If the guys from before came back, we were already caught, so them seeing my open door wouldn't make a bit of difference.

The heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach got even heavier the closer to Eleazar's office we got. I could smell the distinctive scent of a recently fired gun, and even though I knew it was probably my imagination, I could literally smell the blood. The air had a salty, rusty taste to it on the back of my tongue as I breathed in, nearly making me gag. And when we stepped into the doorway of my poor boss's office, I did gag, barely holding in the three drinks I'd had at the club.

Eleazar Denali was lying on his back in a pool of blood. The front of his white dress shirt was covered in blood from what looked like two gunshots, and there was a dark, bloody hole in the middle of his forehead. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open, like he'd seen death coming and tried to scream.

It was the scariest thing I'd ever laid eyes on.

Mary screamed, dropping my hand and backing up until her back hit the wall behind us.

I turned and pulled her into my arms, turning us so neither of us was facing the nightmare inside the large office. Using one hand, I dialed 9-1-1 before putting the phone to my ear and waiting for the operator to answer. If I'd been thinking clearly, I'd have called them after the men left...before checking on Eleazar...but they were gone and he was dead – whether I'd called then or now, it wouldn't have mattered.

Waiting for the police to arrive was nerve-wracking. The 9-1-1 dispatcher had instructed me to stay on the phone with her and to go back to my office with Mary in case the men came back. They had advised us not to touch anything else so we'd carefully moved back down the hall, touching only what we had to in order to get inside the office and sit down. The woman on the phone with me did the best she could to keep us calm, but Mary and I both had the shakes, and I felt like at any moment, I was going to throw up.

Finally, I heard the sirens outside, getting louder and louder until they cut off with a whine, leaving the window to the outside flashing in blue and red through the blinds.

"Th-They're here," I said into the phone. "I see the lights of the police cars."

"Good," she soothed. "Stay on the phone with me until they get to you, Marie. You ladies are doing fine. Just stay with me for another minute."

Mary gripped my hand as we heard movement outside my office, and then the dispatcher said, "Okay, Marie, the police are right outside the office door. Hang up the phone and then slowly open the door, okay? They have to follow protocol, so until they know you're unarmed, don't be scared or shocked that they'll have their weapons out. They won't hurt you. Okay?"

"Y-Yeah," I replied, my voice still shaky. "Th-Thanks."

Hanging up the phone, I slid it into my pocket and looked at Mary. "It'll be okay. Just do as she said and stay calm."

She nodded, so we stepped apart slightly and moved to the door.

"I-I'm going to open the door now," I said loud enough for anyone out in the hall to hear. "That's what the lady on the phone said to do."

"Come out slowly with your hands up," a voice called from the other side. "Do either of you have any weapons on you?"

"No," I answered quickly, shaking my head even though he couldn't see me yet.

Slowly, I turned the knob, and with my free hand over my head, I opened the door just enough that I could pull it open farther with my foot and then raised my other hand up to join the first. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a trembling Mary with her hands raised, too.

"New York City Police Department," one uniformed officer said as he and another officer – a shorter woman with a blond ponytail sticking out from under her cap – stepped up to us, leaving two other officers with their guns drawn. "Step out here and face the wall. My partner needs to frisk you, just to make sure we can clear you."

My face flaming, I moved across the hall and put my hands out, palm flat against the surface, and spread my legs slightly. I'd never had to do this before, but I'd read enough books and seen enough movies and TV to know the score.

After a quick but thorough pat-down by the female officer, the man who had spoken before nodded. The two officers with their guns still out turned and headed back to the outside doors. One split left to go to the front, while the other continued down the hall to the back door that Mary and I had come in through.

"My name's Officer Carter," the man said, his voice much softer now. "This is my partner, Officer Sanders. Would you like to go back into your office to wait for the detectives?"

Glancing at my sister and then down the hall to Eleazar's office, I swallowed hard, nodding. "Yes, please."

Once we were seated back in my office, with the two officers playing sentry at the door, Mary asked with a shaky voice, "H-He's d-dead, isn't he?"

Officer Carter nodded with a frown. "I'm afraid so."

"Oh, God..." Mary moaned softly, squeezing her eyes closed. "I knew he was. There was so much blood."

She suddenly retched, her hands over her mouth. I grabbed for my trashcan, holding it out in front of her just in time for her to lose the contents of her stomach until she had nothing left to give. When she sat back up, Officer Sanders held out the box of tissues she'd grabbed from my desk.

"Thanks," Mary muttered, taking it from her and pulling a few out to wipe her mouth.

Over the next few minutes, we watched as the hallway filled with more people. I saw men and women in black jackets with letters identifying them as the crime scene unit in yellow on the back. Then there were what I could only presume were the detectives – a few men and a woman in suits, rather than police uniforms.

There was a constant low murmur from down the hall, too quiet for me to make out any words, but my office was silent except for Mary's crying. My own tears had stopped. I felt too numb to cry, like I was hovering outside my body, watching everything from above. I knew it would hit me later, but for now, I just kept reminding myself to breathe.

A few minutes later, a voice broke into my thoughts, startling me.

"Marie and Mary Brandon?"

I looked up and saw a tall, slender woman with dark skin, dark hair, and warm, dark eyes standing in the doorway. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a white shirt, and her hair was pulled back into a bun low at the base of her neck. In her hands was a small notepad and pen.

Nodding, I tried to speak and found my throat was too dry. Swallowing a few times, I was finally able to squeak out, "I'm Marie. This is my sister, Mary."

The detective came into the room and gave us a small smile. "I'm Detective Angela Cheney. My husband, Detective Ben Cheney, will be along any minute. You can call me Angela if you'd like...to avoid confusion," she said softly.

Before she could say anything else, a man walked in, looking first at her and then at Mary and me. He was at least six inches shorter than she was, lighter-skinned, with straight, dark hair, obviously of Asian descent. I wouldn't have put him as the other Detective Cheney until he glanced at Angela, and I could just tell they were husband and wife.

"Get them up to speed on names, Ang?" he asked, smiling wryly.

She turned back to us and said, "Marie and Mary Brandon,"—pointing to each of us in turn—"this is Detective Cheney. Call him Ben."

"Hello," Mary and I echoed, and I had to stop myself from cringing when she squeezed my hand.

"If you don't mind, I'd like Angela to take one of you to an empty room in another part of the office so we can get your statements while it's all fresh on your minds," Detective Cheney – Ben – said, pulling out his own pen and notepad from his inside jacket pocket.

Mary and I nodded, and I said, "I can go with you if umm, Angela wants to stay in here with Mary."

They both nodded, and Ben stepped out into the hallway to wait for me.

Looking over at Mary, I could tell she was scared to death. I was just as frightened, but I swallowed back my nerves and tried to smile. "I'll be right back, okay?"

She nodded and released my hand, immediately clasping her other hand in her lap.

"Follow me," Detective Cheney said as I stepped out into the hall.

I was followed out of the office by the two officers that had stayed with us until the detectives arrived. I hadn't taken two steps when my office door closed gently behind us. Officer Carter positioned himself in front of the closed door, while Officer Sanders followed behind Detective Cheney and me.

Winding through hallways, the detective led me to an empty conference room on the other side of the building. He ushered me inside and then closed the door behind us, leaving Officer Sanders to guard the door.

"Have a seat, Ms. Brandon," the detective said gently. Once I was seated, he pulled up a chair and sat down beside me, angling his chair so he was facing me. "I'm going to ask you to go through everything that happened tonight, and if at any point you need to take a break, just let me know, okay?"

I nodded, swallowing back the bile that threatened to rise.

"Mary and I went to the club tonight – umm, Aria, on twenty-first – and on our way there, I realized I'd left my cell phone at the office, so we decided to stop by here and get it on our way home."

"Do you have keys to the building?" Detective Cheney interrupted to ask. "What about the alarm code?"

I nodded, picking at my fingernail, which I knew was a sure sign of my nerves. "I do have a key, yes, and I know the alarm code...but the alarm was off when we got here."

He wrote that down in his notepad and then said, "Okay, so you left the club and came here. What time did you arrive?"

After thinking a moment, I frowned. "I checked my watch after we left the bar, and it wasn't quite eleven. So maybe around ten forty-five or so? About fifteen minutes before I called the police."

Detective Cheney nodded. "That sounds about right. The call came in at five minutes after eleven. Okay, so what happened when you got here to the building?"

I explained that we'd come in the back door because it was closer to my office. "Oh, and there was a black SUV in the parking lot when we got here," I told him. I'd nearly forgotten about the strange vehicle.

He looked up sharply. "Did you see the license plate or anything that could help us identify it?" He was busy scribbling away as he spoke.

I shook my head with a frown. "No, sorry. We saw the side of it, not the back, and it was dark, so all I can tell you is that it was black – or maybe dark blue? – and I think it looked like one of those bigger Ford Explorers or Expedition or something like that. I remember looking back at Mary for a moment before I opened the door, and I think it was a Ford logo on the front."

Nodding, he continued writing for a moment before looking up again. "Okay, so you unlocked the door and then what?"

I told him that the alarm light had been green when I went to punch the code in. "I figured that combined with the strange SUV outside meant Eleazar was with a client."

"Does he do that often?" he asked quickly. "Meet with clients that late, I mean."

Shrugging, I answered, "Occasionally, but not often that I know of."

He scribbled more and then nodded for me to go on.

I explained about being quiet because I didn't want to get roped into working on the weekend, about hearing the arguing and hiding in the dark, closed office, the sounds of the gunshots and the thud of what I guessed was Eleazar's body as he fell to the floor. Throughout my recounting of all of that, he interjected a few questions but mainly stayed quiet and wrote down everything I told him.

"We had been peeking out the blinds of my office to watch the hall, so I watched as two men passed my office and then moved out of sight," I said wearily, running a hand over my face.

Detective Cheney sat up, looking eager. "You saw the men? Can you describe them?"

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment. With them still closed, I started describing the younger man first, telling the detective about his bulbous nose, short, dark hair, and dark suit. When I described the older man, telling him about his smooth, deep voice as he told the other guy to get rid of the gun, Detective Cheney cursed and stood abruptly.

My eyes flew open, and I saw that he was beginning to pace.

"What? What's going on?"

"Give me a minute, please, Ms. Brandon," he said, his hand on the door knob. "I'll be right back."

For nearly ten minutes, I worried the hell out of my bottom lip, chewing on it and my cuticles, trying not to go insane wondering what was going on. My nerves were shot, I still felt sick to my stomach, and I was nervous about Mary being without me. She'd been so frightened and sick, even with me beside her.

When the door opened, both detectives stepped into the room and then closed the door behind them.

I repeated my question from a few minutes before. "What the hell is going on?"

Detective Cheney – Ben – laid a folder down on the table in front of me. "I have two sets of photos here. I'd like you to take a look at each one and see if you recognize either of the men from earlier tonight, okay?"

Nodding somewhat reluctantly, I pulled my lower lip between my teeth again as he slid one page of mug shots out from the folder. On it were six men, all with similar features. My eyes moved from one to another, from left to right, top row to bottom. When I got to picture number five, the bottom middle, I gasped.

"That's him! That's the big nose guy!"

Detective Cheney asked, "Are you positive?"

I shuddered. "Definitely."

He slid the page back into the folder and then looked up at me. "Okay, same thing with this one. If you see either of the men, point them out."

This time when he pulled the sheet of pictures out, it took me no time at all. The first man on the page was the older man I'd seen in the hallway, the one that had given the other guy the gun and told him to get rid of it.

Immediately, I pointed to his picture. "This is him," I said firmly. "I recognize his hair, although it isn't as gray in this picture as it is now, and his eyes." Swallowing hard, I said, "He has cruel eyes." For the rest of my life, I would never forget his eyes as he turned to look at the other man in the hallway. There had been no warmth there, no spark of kindness – just flat, cruel, pure evil.

There was a flurry of activity, and the other detective left the room, folder with the pictures in hand. Detective Cheney cursed again, pulling his phone off his belt and flipping it open.

"What the hell is going on?" I growled, scared shitless because of how frantic and nervous they both seemed. "Who is that man?"

Before he could press a key on the phone, Detective Cheney paused, running a hand through his hair and then looking up at me with a worried frown on his face.

"That's Caius Volturi."

I shook my head, not knowing the name. "Who?"

"Head of the Volturi family," Detective Cheney answered quietly.

At my blank stare, he finally said the words that I knew would change our lives forever.

"The mob."

~oooOOOooo~

"Heavy misfortunes have befallen us, but let us only cling closer to what remains and transfer our love for those whom we have lost to those who yet live." – Mary Shelley, _Frankenstein_

**Edward POV**

"Fuck," I hissed, sitting up on the side of the bed and holding my head in my hands.

I squeezed my eyes closed to get the pounding under control as an ambulance siren blared by outside, but glancing at the hotel's nightstand, I could see the cause of my trouble: the almost-empty bottle of Jack staring back at me, mocking me.

"You're an asshole, Mr. Daniels," I murmured, flipping the bottle off with my middle finger, only to pick it up and take a long draw on it.

Remembering where I was, I gave the room a long, slow gaze, casting a glance over my shoulder to see skin and legs and blond hair. Smirking at how she'd been all over my dick at the bar, I scrubbed my face with my hand once more, trying to recall her name. Sarah...no, Sherry... Sasha. That was it. It wasn't like I needed to remember. We'd both scratched an itch the night before, and she'd be gone on the first flight back to Germany in a few hours. Or was it Norway? It didn't matter, but her accent had been fuck-hot, as had her tits and ass as they'd rubbed up against me on the dance floor. All of it had looked even better once I'd gotten her back to her hotel room, where she'd let me fuck her six ways from Sunday.

"Damn," I snorted, shaking my head and scratching my jaw. I needed a shave and a shower, that was for sure. I smelled like booze, cigarettes, and sex.

My phone buzzed across the nightstand, and I tugged my jeans on, stepping out onto the balcony and lighting a cigarette. Thinking it was Jazz needing an out from that little redhead he'd hit up last night, I smiled when I answered, not bothering to look at the Caller ID.

"You need a ride, Jazz?"

"Edward?" the voice on the other end asked.

Glancing down at the phone, I saw who it really was. "Ben, man. Sorry. It's awfully early in the Big Apple, yeah?"

He chuckled, but that shit sounded tight and forced. "A little, Ed. Sorry if I woke you."

"I'm good. But what's got you calling me this late? Ang okay? You didn't fuck shit up with my girl, right? 'Cause if you did, I'm coming to get her," I teased him, grinning through smoke when he laughed.

I'd known Ben and Angela Cheney since grade school. We'd been good friends in the small-ass town of Forks, all of us looking into law enforcement after graduation. What pretty Angela saw in Ben's short, scrawny ass, I'd never know, but they were perfect for one another. They'd moved to New York, immediately applying for the NYPD. My road had taken a little longer. Four years at UW, one year training in southern Georgia, and finally – thanks to Uncle Al – I'd been placed back home at the U.S. Marshal's office in Seattle. I'd been there ever since – almost three years, actually. I hadn't wanted to just be a cop; I'd wanted to be _the_ cop – the top of the food chain, so to speak.

"Hell, no, Cullen! You stay away from Angela. You get enough pussy, I'm sure." He laughed, but again, it fell away quickly. "She's fine. In fact, she's the one that said that I should call you. I've got... I may need your help, man. Seriously."

My brow furrowed, and I leaned on the balcony railing, letting the cool air sober my ass up as I gazed out over the Seattle skyline. It was the middle of the fucking night, so the city sparkled with every color light imaginable.

"What's up?" I asked him, frowning because Ben never asked for anything.

He sighed wearily. "I've got this case, Ed. And it's... Well, I have a feeling I can't trust anyone. But I can trust..._you_. I've got these two witnesses, and I'm not sure I can keep them here in New York."

That got my attention, and suddenly, the whiskey in my system practically evaporated. I stood up straight, running a hand through my hair. "Witnesses to what?"

"Homicide," he stated. When I started to open my mouth to speak, he went on. "And not just any homicide. A mob hit."

"Oh, hell. Italian or Russian?" I asked, knowing it didn't really make a difference in the danger level, but Russians could be ruthless, while Italians were fucking sneaky. That also explained why he was calling me; I had zero tolerance for organized crime. And for good fucking reason.

"Italian." He was quiet for a moment. "Edward, what are the possibilities of getting you over here to take them into protection?"

"It doesn't work like that, Ben," I sighed, leaning a hip against the railing. "I can't just march into my lieutenant's office, demanding to take a case across the country. There's a Marshal's office in New York..."

"Right now, I don't trust anyone but Angela in this city," he growled. "I'm not stupid, Cullen. I know you've got some pull..."

I pursed my lips, stubbing out my smoke on the railing. "Not a lot."

He huffed, frustrated. "I might need you. I don't think I can keep these girls here."

My head fell back with a groan. "Girls?"

"Yeah, sisters. They heard arguing, gun shots, and then saw two shooters leave the room. This is big. Like bigger than big. I can manipulate things here, but I really think I need your help." He paused for a beat. "Edward...they saw Caius Volturi."

"Aw, fuck." I scrubbed my face, shaking my head.

That was a seriously fucked-up individual. Caius had his fingers in a shit-ton of things, spreading throughout the country. The rumor was he was running things from coast to coast.

"Ben, I can't promise anything, but if you feel you can't handle it, call me back. Have you even gotten clearance from the D.A. to put them into WitSec?" I asked him.

"Not yet. Seeing them today. And I'll be pushing for real protection."

I nodded, noting to myself that I had a little time before I'd be needed in New York – if I could even convince my boss to take the case. "Call me back once you do."

"Edward, come back to bed," a sexy voice said from behind me, which Ben heard as well as I did.

"Like I said, don't touch Angela," he chortled.

I chuckled, ignoring Sasha for the moment, though it was damned difficult when she was lying naked in bed, looking at me like I was her next meal. "I'm just waiting for you to fuck up, man. Then I'm gonna show her how she should be treated..." I told him with a grin, but he cut me off.

"She'd beat the shit out of you," he snorted.

Grinning, I huffed a laugh. "That's very true. Tell her hello, and you two be careful. I'm not making you promises, but I'll try if you can't deal with it."

"At this point, I'll take anything," he said and then ended the call.

I pocketed my phone, leaning in the balcony doorway. "I gotta go," I told Sasha, happy that I had an out. I needed some sleep before I had to be across town later that afternoon, and I probably needed to talk to Jasper as well before I even mentioned Ben's call to my lieutenant.

"We have time before my flight..."

"Can't, babe. Sorry," I told her with a shake of my head. It sounded colder than I expected, but Sasha didn't bat an eye.

I walked to the bed, sitting down on the edge to put on my socks and shoes. Reaching for my shield and gun on the nightstand, I felt fingers on the skin of my back. I could feel her fingertip trace along the tattoo across my back – every twist, turn, and swirl of ink.

"So pretty," she whispered, dropping a kiss to a spot between my shoulder blades. "What's it mean? And this one?" she asked, trailing a finger across the ink on my inner forearm.

"Nothing. It doesn't mean anything. It's just ink," I lied, standing up and away from her touch.

I knew my face was wearing an expression that scared her, because she flinched back, tugging the sheet up around her. To her credit, though, she didn't ask again, which was a good thing because I wasn't going to tell her. Quickly, I pulled my shirt on, covering up all my tatts.

Leaning down, I kissed her cheek. "Thanks for last night."

She smiled, trailed another finger down the buttons of my shirt, and toyed with the zipper of my jeans. "You know, I'm flying back in a few months. We should do it again, Edward..."

I smirked, raising an eyebrow up at her. "We'll see," I told her, making no promises.

It was fucking tempting to let her keep rubbing, keep touching the outside of my jeans, because she was causing my cock to stand at attention, and her mouth looked even more enticing; instead, I clipped my gun to my jeans and took her hands in mine. "Have a safe flight home, Sasha."

With that said, I left the room, heading toward the elevators. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I chuckled at the fact that this time, it was Jasper.

"Cullen," I stated, stepping into the elevator.

"Pick me the fuck up, Ed," he growled.

I laughed. "Yeah, yeah... On my way."

~oOo~

"Get the fuck up!" I growled, kicking my sofa to wake up Jasper. "We're gonna be late. And I don't want to hear Rose's mouth."

Jasper grinned, not bothering to open his eyes. "You'd think you'd mellow the hell out once you got laid, Ed."

"You'd think." I snorted, walking into the kitchen to practically inhale a cup of coffee. "Get up!" I yelled. I did not want to catch hell from my sister.

"Okay, okay... You're right. Your sister's fucking scary when she's pissed," he groaned, rousing from the couch and thumping into the bathroom.

I nodded, sipping my coffee, even though he couldn't see me. Rosalie Cullen, now McCarty, could scare the shit out of anyone. Her temper was not to be tested. I loved her, but she could be a real bitch.

Once Jasper was showered, dressed, and barely awake, I shoved him out the door and toward my car.

"What's wrong with the bike?" he asked, pointing at my garage, where most of the parts to my motorcycle were strewn everywhere.

"She wasn't firing properly," I explained, pulling out onto the street. "I took her apart just before Hendricks ran but haven't had the chance to put her back together."

He nodded, accepting that answer because we'd been busy. In fact, last night was the first chance Jazz and I had been able to blow off some steam. The last job we'd been on had taken us all over the damn state on a manhunt for an escaped convict. Clayton Hendricks had tricked everyone into thinking he was ill and then bolted from the hospital. We'd found him, though, holed up in a hotel just outside of Tacoma. Jasper and I had been the ones to locate him, really give him something to need a hospital for, and bring him back into custody. His bullet wounds were healing nicely in an upstate Washington prison. However, he'd taken me away from working on my bike.

Jasper stayed quiet on the drive out of the city and into the suburbs. We didn't need to talk much. It was what I liked about him. I'd met Jasper Whitlock almost four years ago in Georgia at the U.S. Marshal training facility. We'd pushed each other, competed against each other out in the field and in the classroom, and that competition had resulted in high scores. When it came time for placement, I'd told my uncle about him, and Jasper had been sent to Seattle at the same time I was.

Pulling into the driveway, I chuckled at Emmett's put-out expression as he peeked around from the backyard. The fact that the big bastard was wearing an apron just made me laugh all the harder. Emmett McCarty was one of Seattle's finest, and a detective, at that. He was about six-foot-two, weighing in just about the same as he had when he'd played football in high school as a defensive lineman. In fact, he was probably in better shape now. How he put up with my sister, I'd never understand, but his demeanor seemed to be built perfectly to take it.

"You're late," my brother-in-law huffed, rolling his eyes, and Jasper just groaned.

"Ten minutes!" I argued, walking through the side gate and handing him the beer he'd requested.

He grinned, shrugging a huge shoulder. "Just sayin'. Just warning you, too. She's in rare form this morning. The hormones are kickin' my ass."

"It's my hormones!" I heard from the sliding glass door. "And you're late!"

Rosalie stood in the doorway, looking as beautiful as ever, even with her harsh expression aimed my way. She was a stunning, long-legged blonde that caused me more fights in school than I was willing to admit. Teen boys didn't know when enough was enough, and some liked to push the flirting and teasing too far, past her comfort zone. It never mattered that Rose and I weren't blood related... I'd kick anyone's ass for her.

"Aw, Rose, just ten minutes," I whined, rolling my eyes. I walked to her, kissing her cheek. "It's not like you're ready to eat. He's still got the coals burning."

"You look like shit, Edward," Rose said, eyeing me and then Jasper. "Both of you. What was her name? Do you even remember?"

"No," Jasper cracked up from across the back deck.

"No, but she remembers mine...as do the people in the next hotel room over," I told her with a wink and a grin, just to see her scoff and then laugh. I reached out, rubbing the little bump on her stomach. "How's my nephew treating you?"

She smacked at my hands, but she was wearing a smile. "I told you...we're waiting to find out what the sex is. It could be a girl, you know."

"Remind me to buy a shotgun," I said with a growl in my voice.

She laughed. "You sound like Em," she said, reaching up to run her fingers through my hair. "You gotta stop partying, brother." She sighed, her blue eyes raking over me. "You'll grow old before your time."

I rolled my eyes at her again. "I'm in my best shape, Ro."

"Hmph," she scoffed, tugging me into the house. "Here, take these to Emmett."

I took the plate of burgers from her and started to head back outside.

"Hey, Edward..."

I turned to face her again.

"One day...someone will come along, and you'll _want_ to remember her name. Not all of us girls are like Maggie." She smirked, but the darkness in her eyes showed her hatred of the woman she'd just mentioned.

I shook my head, but I didn't have anything to say to that. Despite my sister's tough demeanor, she was a softy underneath. I handed Emmett the plate, then grabbed a cold beer, plopping down in the chair. Though, if it weren't for my sister, I wouldn't be where I was right then. Starting in high school, she'd bailed me out of trouble more times than I could count, cleaned me up, lectured me, and sent me back out into the world. Without her, I would probably be no better than the assholes I chased every damn day. In college, I'd been even worse – drinking, partying, the wrong crowd...and yeah, Maggie.

Sighing, I tried to force her name out of my mind as Emmett and Jasper talked about the Hendricks case, but it didn't work. The girl had stomped on my heart. She'd been the last long-term relationship I'd tried to have. Well, not really...I'd tried but never truly given them my trust, which inevitably screwed shit up every time.

I was snapped out of my musings when Emmett kicked the leg of my chair, almost sending me flying out of it. He was lucky my beer was almost empty. If I'd spilled it, I would have kicked his ass – or tried to, anyway.

"What?!" I snapped.

"I said, your dad called looking for you," he said with an amused chuckle. "You haven't been in touch since you found Hendricks?"

"Nah, I'll call Mom later," I sighed, shrugging my shoulder. "I've been busy."

Damn, was this "pick on Edward" day or what? I scowled out over Emmett's backyard. Calling my dad would only end in a disagreement, which would cause my mother worry. And that I couldn't have. I didn't exactly live my life in a way that met up to Carlisle Cullen's standards.

I gazed down at the ink on my forearm – a blatant reminder that Carlisle wasn't my real father. I trailed my thumb over the dark wings of the angel, shaking my head. She was the exact same as the angel that adorned my birth father's tombstone. I'd taken the picture of it to a friend, who'd drawn it out for me.

Edward Masen had been killed in his law office in Port Angeles when I was a year and a half old. He'd been working on a trial against the Bennetti crime family. From the old case file, he'd been threatened to drop the charges, but he hadn't, which resulted in his assassination. I'd been named after him...or had been until my mother married Carlisle, who then adopted me. Carlisle's first wife had been killed in a car accident that same year, leaving him with an almost two and a half-year-old little girl – Rose. My mom had met my stepfather at a daycare in the small town of Forks, and the rest was history.

I had to give credit to Carlisle. He did his best, but we were completely different people. Where my dad was calm, cool, and collected, I wasn't. At all. I had a quick temper and had never really measured up to what he wanted from me. He'd wanted me to follow in his footsteps, become a doctor, like him, but that wasn't me. As I got older, moving into high school, I'd never felt like I fit in. I still didn't. When I found out I wasn't Carlisle's biological son, everything kind of slid into place as to why I'd felt the way I did growing up. In some ways, it made things easier, but in others, it made them harder. Once I found out about my real father and his death, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and only my mother understood it. She'd said I'd inherited Edward Masen's nose for trouble and his tenacious desire to right wrongs.

Thinking about Forks reminded me of Ben's phone call, so I looked over at Rose. "Ben Cheney called me at like four in the morning."

Her eyebrows raised up high. "Are he and Angela still in New York?"

"Yeah." I nodded, getting up to grab another beer and handing one to Jasper. "He asked me to take on a couple of witnesses. You know, ask for the case."

Jasper frowned, sitting forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his beer in his hands. "Just like that? And all the way in New York?"

"That's what I asked, but apparently, these two witnessed a mob hit." I sighed, sitting back. "He says he doesn't trust anyone to take it over there. It's Caius Volturi."

"Oh, damn," Jasper murmured, his brow furrowing. "No wonder he doesn't trust anyone."

"Call Uncle Al," Rose stated firmly with a shrug of her shoulder and a rub to her growing belly. "He'll understand. He'll remember Ben from barbecues and shit."

I grinned. That was true. Alistair Chambers was my lieutenant, but he was also Carlisle's former roommate in college. Rose and I had known him our whole lives as Uncle Al. He was also the reason I'd wanted to be a U.S. Marshal. Without him, I'd have never known the steps I'd needed to take. He'd threatened, cajoled, and urged me to keep going, even when I didn't think I could.

"Get your grub on," Emmett boomed, setting the plate of now-grilled burgers onto the table. "Then you can call Uncle Al."

Laughing, I nodded, grabbing a paper plate. "Nah, I'll just go up to the office after we eat."

Jasper hummed in agreement, already chewing a mouthful of potato salad. Once he swallowed, he said, "Cool, I'll go with you."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: So there ya have it. Chapter 1! Marie & Mary (as in Isabella Marie & Mary Alice from the books, in case you forgot about that little fact! ;) ) sort of witnessed the murder of her boss, Ben and Angela Cheney are friends with Edward and have put Edward on notice that they want him assigned when it probably turns into a Witness Security case, and our favorite couple has some issues they'll need to work through in terms of relationships and sex...**

**We'll see you next Sunday for Chapter 2! :D**

**- Jenny & Deb**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N #1: Holy reviews, Batman! You guys rocked it last chapter, and Deb & I can't thank you enough. We' so glad you enjoyed the introduction to all our key players. :) There's some good stuff this chapter, so I'll let you get on with it. See Deb at the bottom. ;) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 2**

**Marie POV**

"What time is it?" Mary asked from her position on the couch beside me. Her head was on my shoulder, where she'd been resting it for the last twenty minutes, eyes closed.

Looking at the clock, I groaned. "Way too fucking early in the morning." When she poked my arm, I said, "Just after nine."

It wasn't that nine a.m., even on a Saturday, was that early – I was used to being at work at seven thirty, after all – but we'd been up all night, talking with Angela and Ben, as well as two detectives from the Organized Crime division.

"I want to go home," she sighed, raising a hand to rub her face.

Angela must have heard Mary's comment because she breezed into the room and said, "Just a little bit longer, and then if you both are determined to go home and not to a hotel, I'll take you myself, all right?"

I nodded wearily. "What now?" I asked as Mary sat up.

Ben walked in, waving a folder. "That can wait," he told his wife before turning to us. "The D.A. said he'll speak with you tomorrow about what you saw and what you can expect over the next few...well, at least weeks, in terms of the trial preparation. Caius and Felix will be arrested within the hour, so we need to get you guys out of here and to the hotel."

"Now?" Mary squeaked, squeezing my hand tightly.

Shaking my head, I told him, "We're going home, not a hotel."

"Marie, Mary..." Ben grimaced. "I strongly suggest going to a hotel. Your names aren't out there yet, but they will be, as much as we can try to prevent it, and when they are, I'm worried about your safety."

"Then we'll worry about that when and if we get to that point," I said firmly. "Mary wants to go home, as do I."

Ben and Angela looked at one another, holding a silent conversation, before they turned back to us and he nodded. "All right, then. Let's get you home."

~oOo~

After sneaking us out the back door of the station, Angela and Ben loaded us into an older, nondescript, brown, four-door Chevy, stating that it was one of the station's undercover vehicles. Ben slid behind the wheel and slowly drove the car out of the underground garage and into the busy city street.

The drive to our apartment was quiet. All of us had been awake all night, and I knew everyone was stressed and tired. I wanted to ask what would happen once the men were arrested, but I didn't want to upset Mary any more than she was already – and frankly, I was scared out of my wits enough. I was being strong for my sister, but my head was pounding, I'd nearly chewed clean through my lower lip already, and I felt more than sick to my stomach. Any more information could wait until I'd taken a shower and gotten some sleep.

As Ben parked in front of our building, Angela slid a placard on the dashboard to signal that it was a police vehicle, and then the four of us got out and walked quickly inside. Mary and I lived on the third floor, and there was no elevator, so we moved up the stairs in a line, with Ben in the lead and Angela trailing behind me in the back.

"Keys," he said once we were to our door. "Let me sweep the apartment first, just to be safe."

Mary handed him her keys, pointing out the two that would unlock the deadbolts and lock on the handle.

Within a minute, Ben was back, handing Mary the keys. "Everything looks secure. Keep the doors and windows locked, okay?"

We nodded, and I looked around, suddenly feeling nervous about being there alone with my sister.

Angela patted my arm and smiled softly. "You have my card still, right?" When I told her I did, she said, "Remember, my numbers are on the front, and Ben's are on the back. Call us at any time for any reason. We only live about ten blocks from here, so we can run it if we have to."

"'Kay," I huffed, gathering Mary into my arms when she started shaking. "We'll be fine, right, Mare?"

Mary nodded, steeling her backbone and looking more like her normal self as she tried to be strong. "Yup," she chirped, although it was decidedly less...chirpy than normal. "Thanks."

Angela and Ben smiled. "We'll call you tomorrow to check up on you, and then we'll see you Monday morning at nine," she told us, ushering her husband out into the hall.

"Lock the doors!" he called once more as I closed it behind them. His muffled voice sounded like he said, "Good girl," as I clicked the locks one by one.

Looking at Mary, I sighed. "Well... I want a shower and some tea before we get some sleep. How about you?" At her nod, I said, "You get the shower first while I make the tea, okay?"

"Thanks, sis," she murmured, barely disguising a yawn as she turned around to head to the bathroom, pulling her shoes off as she went.

I rolled my shoulders, trying to work out the knots, as I made my way to the small kitchen, more than ready for something that would warm the cold knot of my insides.

~oOo~

A noise from somewhere in the apartment woke me, and I sat up, my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. Looking at the clock in the darkness, I saw that it was nearly two in the morning. Mary and I had slept until mid-afternoon on Saturday, then spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch, watching mindless movies and sipping cocoa and tea. We had gone to bed again a few hours before, although she was still in my bed, as neither of us felt comfortable enough on our own yet.

The noise sounded again, just a short scratching followed by metal rattling, but it was enough that I could tell it was the screen on the window by the fire escape in the dining area beside the kitchen.

"Fuck!" I hissed, the sound barely audible in the quiet bedroom.

Mary stirred beside me, and I quickly leaned down and put a hand over her mouth.

"Don't say anything. Someone's trying to break in. Call Angela," I breathed before silently climbing over her as she nodded and reached for the bedside table.

On sock-covered feet, I made my way to the closet, thankful I never remembered to close the sliding door, which had a tendency to make noise as I pulled it open. I could hear Mary's whispered conversation as I reached up to the box on the top shelf of the closet. Grabbing our father's old nine millimeter, I used the moonlight coming in from the window to check that it was loaded, and then I released the safety, slowly making my way to the side of the bed.

"Get in the closet," I told my sister, although it was so quiet, I'm not sure she heard me.

When she didn't move, I pulled on her T-shirt until she was on her feet and then gently pushed her toward the closet. She must have understood because she silently slipped behind the other side of the door, perfectly concealed in the darkness.

Still hearing movement in the kitchen area, I slid out into the hall, gun up and gripped in both hands, ready in case I needed to fire – something I hadn't done in years, but I was suddenly more than thankful that our father had taught us to do shortly before he was killed.

As I got to the end of the hall, I knew I was in shadow still, but I was barely able to see around the corner where a man had just finished climbing through the window. The lights from the street and the one we'd left on over the stove showed something in his hand, and although I wasn't positive, I wasn't taking any chances, either.

Extending my arms, I aimed as best and as quickly as I could and pulled the trigger.

"You bitch!" the man growled, raising his gun in my general direction.

Before he could get off a shot, I pulled the trigger again and again, letting off two more rounds. He cried out as he threw himself back through the open window and onto the fire escape. I heard him scrambling and then the fire escape screeched and groaned as he ran down the steps.

Shaking, I slid down to the floor, the wall at my back, until I was sitting, my knees drawn up and gun extended, moving from the open window to the front door in case the man came back and tried to come through the door.

"Marie?"

"Get back into the closet!" I hissed, not looking away from the window.

Mary didn't listen, choosing instead to sink down to the floor with me. "I have Angela on the phone," she explained quietly, holding out the phone so I would see it. "She and Ben are on their way."

I nodded, barely taking my eyes from the open window long enough to glance at her before moving back again, still fearful the man would come back.

We sat in silence, with the occasional murmur into the phone by Mary, for nearly ten minutes, until she finally held the phone up to my ear.

"_Marie?_" Angela's voice was gentle as she spoke.

"Y-Yeah?"

"_Ben and I are here, okay? We're right outside your door. I need you to put down the gun so we can come in. We can't come in to help you until you do that for me, sweetie._"

I gripped the gun tighter, careful not to put my finger on the trigger. "It's just the two of you?"

"_Yes, just the two of us. There are some officers and detectives outside, but right now, it's just us up here with you._"

With a gasping sob, I fumbled the safety on and set the gun down on the floor in front of me.

Mary spoke softly into the phone in the background and then wrapped her arm around me and pulled me to her.

The front door opened and Ben and Angela walked in. Ben immediately went to the kitchen, while Angela came to us. She picked up the gun, checked the safety, and then slid it into her waistband in the back of her jeans.

Holding out her hand, she said gently, "Come on, ladies. Let's go to the living room and go over what happened, okay?"

I took her hand, allowing her to help pull me to my feet as Mary stood up with me. We went over to the couch as Angela clicked on the light beside it, bathing the room in a warm glow.

Once we were seated and Angela had taken a seat on the coffee table across from us, she pulled out a notepad and pen, turning to a new page. "All right, Marie. Start from the beginning, okay? Don't leave anything out, even if it seems insignificant."

Nodding, I said, "We went to sleep again around eleven—"

"Both of you in your room?" she interrupted.

"Yeah. I... Neither of us wanted to sleep alone."

She smiled gently. "Understandable. Okay, sorry; keep going."

"A noise woke me up at two o'clock."

I continued speaking, telling everything from the noises I'd heard, to getting our father's old gun, to pushing Mary to the closet, to shooting once and then two more times when the man raised his gun at me.

"I... I think I hit him. He made a noise that sounded like it hurt just before he went back through the window."

Ben walked in then. "You did. There's blood on the fire escape, leading down to the street. Not a lot, but enough that he's definitely hurting. We've put out word to the hospitals in the area, but I doubt we'll hear anything. If it was Volturi's man, he'll go somewhere underground to get stitched up."

The two of them looked at one another and then at us.

"Marie, Mary, it's time you moved to a hotel. You aren't safe here right now." Ben's voice was gentle, cajoling, but serious.

Mary squeezed my hand. "Do we have time to pack some things?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure, sweetheart. Plan for a week or so, but only a couple of bags, okay? We need to be able to move quickly," Angela explained.

I nodded and then we quietly walked down the hall and split to go to our separate bedrooms.

I grabbed a few jeans, T-shirts, socks, underwear, and another bra, as well as something to sleep in, stuffing it all into a duffel bag I pulled from the closet. Mary walked in, now wearing jeans and a T-shirt, with a stack of clothes, adding them to the bag.

"I'll get the bathroom stuff while you change," she told me quietly, closing the bedroom door behind her.

I pulled out a change of clothes from the closet and dresser, trading my plaid pajama pants and ratty T-shirt for a pair of jeans and a top, slipping my feet into my sneakers and tying them before opening the bedroom door.

Mary came back in with a big makeup bag as well as shampoo, conditioner, hair brushes, toothbrushes, a handful of tampons, and a few other needed accessories, like my hair ties. She stuffed everything into the bag as I grabbed both our tablets to add with the rest of our things.

"Thanks," I murmured, hoisting it to my shoulder. "Guess we should go, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Where do you think they'll take us?"

I shrugged, smiling slightly. "No idea, but I hope it has cable."

With a quiet laugh, she led us down the hall to the living room, where Ben and Angela were waiting.

~oOo~

The hotel Ben and Angela had brought us to was somewhere between a mid-level family joint and pay-by-the-hour hooker hangout. It wasn't quite the Roach Motel, but it wasn't even as nice as a Days Inn. It had cable, hot water, and a bed...and most importantly, no one knew where we were. We could live without creature comforts if it meant we were safe.

"I'll be outside," Ben said once we'd settled in. "Ang will stay right here, just to be safe, okay?"

They had tried to get connecting rooms, but that wasn't something this place offered, so instead, they'd gotten two double beds, knowing Mary and I could share.

We nodded and watched them talking softly before he left the room and Angela locked the door behind him, moving to the curtained window to make sure the coverings were closed.

After agreeing that we all needed some sleep – it was only five in the morning, and we didn't have to meet the D.A. until nine – we each took turns in the bathroom. Mary and I changed into sleep clothes, while Angela came back out still dressed. We didn't question it, knowing she would want to be ready in case of a problem.

Once we were all settled, Angela turned off the light, and I closed my eyes, hoping I'd be able to sleep.

Thirty minutes later, I knew it was a lost cause. My mind was racing, and I couldn't settle down. I knew my sister was facing the same problems because she kept tossing and turning, and every few minutes, she'd let out a frustrated sigh.

"Can't sleep?" Angela's quiet voice suddenly asked.

I laughed, although it sounded frustrated even to my ears. "No."

"Me, either," Mary answered from beside me.

Angela flicked on the light, and the three of us sat up, squinting against the sudden brightness.

When her phone rang, Angela grabbed it and put it to her ear. "Yeah?"

Mary grabbed my hand, but we relaxed when Angela continued speaking.

"No, everything's fine. None of us could fall asleep." She smiled, rolling her eyes. "No, we're fine. I'll let you know."

Once she hung up, she chuckled. "Ben, just checking in since he saw the light go on."

For a few minutes, we were all quiet. I thought about Ben, who was sitting out in an uncomfortable car, knowing he hadn't had much, if any, sleep all night. Angela may have been inside, but I knew she wasn't much more comfortable – the beds in this place weren't exactly soft. That made me think of something I'd been meaning to ask Angela.

"Why are you doing this?"

She hummed a noise in question and, after a moment, asked, "What do you mean?"

"You and Ben. Why are you staying with us, out there and in here?" I clarified. "I mean, the detectives from Organized Crime are running the investigation and stuff now. It isn't your case anymore, right?" She didn't say anything, and I hurried to reassure her. "I didn't mean that we don't appreciate it. We're happy you're both here. We're comfortable with you. Right, Mare?"

Mary nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

I shrugged. "But surely you'd rather be at home, comfortably asleep in your own bed with your husband, than stuck here with us."

Angela stared at the blank off-white wall across from her for a moment, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Finally, she spoke without looking at us. "We had a child. A little boy." Her voice hitched when she said, "Daniel. He was two years old. Last year, he and Karen, his babysitter, were taking a walk, going down to the park, when they got in the middle of a drug deal gone bad. Shots were fired, and both he and Karen were killed. Our poor baby never had a chance to grow up, to go to school or ride a bike."

I felt tears prick my eyelids and then begin flowing down my cheeks, making my eyes sting.

"We could never prove it, certainly not well enough to do anything to him, but we believe – no, we _know_ – that the men involved belonged to the Volturi family. We haven't been able to do anything about it, and OCCB hasn't had enough to arrest Caius and the other key players. Now?" Angela's face hardened. "The bastard is going down, thanks to the two of you and your courage to testify, so Ben and I will do whatever we have to do to keep you safe."

"I...I'm so sorry," I told her, grief etched in my voice.

Mary sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Me, too."

Angela was quiet for a moment before she nodded and said, "So yes, we'll protect you with our lives if we have to...for you, for Eleazar Denali, and for Daniel."

Not knowing what else to say, and suddenly feeling even more drained than I'd felt before, I slid back down into the bed and closed my eyes, my tears soaking the pillow under my head as I fell into sleep.

~oOo~

Sunday afternoon, Ben spirited us out of the District Attorney's office and into the car, ready to drive us back to the hotel. We'd spent nearly six hours total talking with the OCCB detectives – which we'd found out stood for Organized Crime Control Bureau – and the D.A. Both of us felt like we'd been put through the wringer. Apparently, it could take months to bring Caius Volturi and Felix Guardiano to trial. We would be under police protection throughout that time, in hiding and unable to work or go out. After the trial, it was up to us what we wanted. Thomas Banner, the District Attorney, had told us that although it wasn't required, Mary and I would be safest going into witness protection – or the Witness Security Program, as it was now called. At first, we'd really balked at the idea, and we still weren't sure that's what we wanted. For now, we were safe with Angela and Ben.

"We'll head back to the hotel now. Angela will meet us there in a little bit. She needed to run home and grab some more clothes. If you guys need anything, she can pick it up before coming to the hotel, okay?" Ben asked, looking at us in the rear view mirror quickly before turning his attention back to the road in front of him. "I don't want to stay out any longer than necessary."

"That's fine," Mary and I both agreed, nodding as we looked out the car windows.

I wasn't paying a lot of attention, but when Ben cursed, my head shot up.

"What?" I asked, looking around before looking up at him. "What's going on?"

"I think we picked up a tail. I have seen the same car a few times now. Hold on," he ordered before making a sudden right turn.

Mary grabbed my hand, and we each held onto the door handles as Ben raced down a side street, putting as much distance as he could between us and whoever he believed was following us.

Not two minutes later, he cursed again, taking a sudden left this time, crossing over two lanes of traffic and nearly taking out a taxi.

"Every time I think we've lost him, I see the damn car again," he growled under his breath just loud enough for us to hear.

I wanted to look behind me to see if I could spot the car he was seeing, but my fear held me in place.

Suddenly, Ben tapped the Bluetooth headset at his ear. "Ang, you need to meet us with the other car. I think someone put a tracker on this one."

I didn't hear her response, but Ben rattled off a street name and told Angela to meet there in twenty minutes, giving her a description of the black four-door sedan he'd seen following us.

"We're going to evade this guy as best we can and then meet up with Angela so you can switch cars. I'll stay with this one while Angela takes you back to the hotel in the new one, and once I know this car's clean, I'll meet back up with you, okay?" He tried to look reassuring, but I was getting so scared, his smile didn't help at all.

"Okay," Mary squeaked, nodding.

"Why not call for backup?" I asked, worried that they were going to try to do it by themselves.

"With a case this big, until we know for certain who we can and can't trust, I'd prefer to keep it just the two of us unless it becomes something we can't handle," Ben said as he whipped the car to the right.

Twenty minutes later, after more quick turns, a few times of hiding in parking garages, and more scary moments in traffic than I'd ever like to revisit, he turned down a street and pointed ahead.

"That's Angela's car. I'll pull up beside it, and you ladies jump out and get into her car as fast as you can. She'll take off so you're out of the area in case the guy catches up. Understand?"

This time, we both nodded, and when Ben pulled up, Mary and I were a tangle of arms and legs as we moved from one car to the other.

Angela didn't bother with pleasantries, just a short, "Buckle up and hold on," before peeling off down the street.

Several tense minutes passed, with Angela keeping her eyes glued to the mirrors, but finally, she blew out a breath and tapped a button on her phone. "We're good. You?"

She had obviously put it on speaker, because Ben's tinny voice said, "I found one tracker someone had put in the rear wheel well. I called Jenkins, and he's meeting me in front of the station. He'll take it to the lab to process it so I don't have to leave the car unattended."

"Okay," Angela said, smiling back at us. "Meet you at the hotel." She hung up and tossed the phone to the seat beside her.

We were all quiet as we finished the few-minute drive. When Angela pulled up to the stoplight just across the street from the hotel, she cursed, making my heart jump to my throat.

Picking up her phone, she hit a button and put it to her ear. "They found the hotel...no, we're across the street. They haven't seen...yes, I know. We'll get friendly and wait for you to meet us. Call Shell. See if her cousin's house is still empty and if she'll let us stay there...no, I know. We'll be fine...Okay, let me know. See you in a bit."

She once again hung up the phone and tossed it beside her, looking back at us. "You guys hanging in there?"

We nodded, and I said, "What are we doing now?"

Angela smiled slightly before looking forward again. "We're going to a motel – the Friendly Motor Inn. It's...well, let's just say if you are looking to pay by the hour, that's the place you want to go. No one will think to look for us there, and only Ben knows the reference I made to it, so even if someone happened to be listening in on the conversation, they won't have picked up on it.

"Ben will meet some friends – some trusted friends – at the other hotel to try to pick up the guys waiting there for us and to grab your things. He'll do a sweep to make sure no one got in and planted any bugs or trackers anywhere, and then he'll meet us at the new place."

"And Shell?" Mary asked. "What house?"

"Our friend Shelly Cope. We met her through our neighbors when we first moved to town, and we've been friends ever since. Her cousin's family is overseas with the military, so no one is living there at the moment. If he finds out that isn't available for some reason, we'll work around it." Glancing back at us, she promised, "We'll keep you safe. I swear it."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

Saturday afternoon turned into a sunny day, which wasn't helping the hangover I was still slightly sporting...or maybe I just needed sleep. Tugging my baseball cap on and slipping on my sunglasses, I drove with Jasper through the streets of Seattle as we made our way toward our office. I parked my car in the garage, and both of us got out at the same time my phone rang. Caller ID showed it was my dad, and I sighed, ignoring the call. I'd planned on calling home once I dropped Jasper back off at his house.

"Think he'll do it?" Jasper asked cryptically, but I knew what he meant.

"Who knows?" I shrugged as we made our way into the building toward the elevators.

I punched the button for the right floor, leaning back against the wall of the elevator and hooking my thumbs into the front pocket of my jeans. I wasn't sure if Al would do it, but I was pretty sure he'd at least listen.

A soft ding echoed in the small space before the doors slid open to reveal the receptionist desk. Jessica glanced up from her computer, the handset of the phone braced between her ear and shoulder. She gave Jasper and me a flirty smile and an appraising glance from beneath her eyelashes.

Giving her a half-grin, I took off my sunglasses and hooked them into the front of my shirt. "He in?"

She smiled, nodding, and jerked a thumb toward the main glass doors, but then held up one finger for us to wait. She finished her phone call and hung up.

"Yeah, he's in. Not in the best of moods, but still..." she told us, propping her arms up on her desk so her tits looked fuller. "Aren't you boys on an off day or two?"

"Boys," Jasper scoffed, rolling his eyes.

She laughed. "You know what I mean!"

Jessica Stanley was hot. There was no getting around that. She knew it, and every man on the force knew it. And Jess used that shit without shame to get what she wanted, which was plenty. She had long, light brown hair with blond highlights that gave her a look like she'd always just stepped out of the sun. She had a carefree attitude when it came to flirting with the guys she liked and a killer body that she dressed to show off.

"Yeah, we're off," I told her, leaning on the top of her desk. "I just need to speak with him."

"Well, heads up," she warned, raising a sexy-as-hell eyebrow at me. "He'll ask you for your report on Hendricks, so if you're here..."

"Fuck me," Jasper muttered, smacking my shoulder with the back of his hand. "I'll get it. You go talk to him."

Laughing, I nodded, turning back to Jess. "Thanks, Jess."

I patted the top of her desk, but before I could walk into the bullpen, she stopped me with a hand gripping my wrist.

"Hey, Edward," she whispered, giving Jasper's retreating back a quick glance and then looked back up to me. "The girls from accounting and I are heading out tonight...drinking, dancing... Wanna come?"

I chuckled at her innuendo but shook my head. "Can't, Jess. I got a lot of shit to catch up on. Hendricks being one of them."

She pouted, bottom lip jutting out and all. "Sorry to hear that. Next time?"

"We'll see," I hedged, shooting her a wink before walking into the main room.

I walked to the two desks where Jasper and I sat, rolling my eyes at his chuckle.

"You gonna put that poor girl outta her misery, or what?" he asked, shaking his head as he turned on his computer. "She's got it _bad_, Cullen."

"Uhh, no," I stated firmly. "Not a chance in fucking hell."

He chuckled, looking up at me to elaborate.

"First, if I even touch her, I still gotta look at her every damn day after that. Fuck it up, and she'll make my life a living hell," I told him, smiling when he laughed. "And second, she's like engaged or some shit to that senator's son...Tyler, Taylor...what-the-fuck-ever. No thanks. She's trouble, Jazz. Keep that in mind the next time she bats those eyelashes at you. You know the phrase 'don't shit where you eat'?" I asked him, but he only cracked up that much more. "Well, you shouldn't fuck where you work, either."

He grinned, focusing on the computer. "Eye candy only. Got it. I'll type this. Go see Al."

I snorted, leaving him to our report. Al's office door was open, but he was on the phone when I poked my head in, tapping on the door frame with a single knuckle. His eyes shot up to mine and he smiled, gesturing for me to close the door and have a seat.

"No, Jane," he sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he spoke slowly and deliberately to his second ex-wife like she was a child. "If you want Katie in private school, we'll talk about it, but I'm not just mailing you a blank check. That'll never happen. Send me the info, and I'll call the school."

I grinned when his head fell back with a groan. I could hear her screaming over the line, but it suddenly ended. He dropped the phone back into its cradle and stared at me. He was the same age as my dad, but he looked older simply due to all the shit he'd seen in his professional and personal life. He was a little shorter than I was, thicker in the middle, and his hair and goatee were a dark brown, spattered with the gray that had started creeping in when I was about sixteen.

"I'm glad to know that my parents are a better marital influence on me than you are," I teased him, laughing when he flipped me off. "My young, impressionable mind can't take it."

"Shut the fuck up, Eddie," he snorted, glancing over me and then the clock. "You're not supposed to be here. Why are you in my grill? And please, _please_ tell me you went out, got completely wasted, and met some beautiful girl, so that I can live vicariously through your youth and good looks."

"Why...all of the above, Uncle Al," I sang, shrugging a shoulder. "Jealous?"

"Tremendously so," he said with a smirk. "Now...why are you here? Shouldn't you be at Rose's?"

"I was. She sends her love," I told him. "She's driving Emmett crazy with her hormone mood swings."

He grinned, his mood changing from teasing to warm. He adored my sister and was almost as excited as the rest of us for the niece or nephew that was heading our way. Uncle Al was easy to talk to – not that he wasn't a strict lieutenant, because he was. He was a no-nonsense CO, a play-by-the-rules kinda guy, but he was fair and pretty laid back.

"Spill it, son," he stated, leaning up on his elbows and pressing his palms together.

"You remember Ben Cheney from Forks High? Went to school with Rose and me?" I asked him, figuring the best way to talk to him was the direct approach.

"Oh, yeah, short kid. Asian?" he asked, tilting his head at me. When I nodded, he continued. "Is he still with that pretty little brunette that's about six inches taller?"

I chuckled. "Yeah...they're Detectives Cheney and Cheney now. NYPD."

"What about him?"

"He called me last night. Worried about some case he's dealing with. He said he couldn't trust anyone his way and wanted to know if I could take two witnesses into protection," I explained, my brow furrowing.

"Witness to what?"

"Mob hit. Caius Volturi."

The silence was deafening as he studied my face. His brows knitted together, his gray eyes darkened, and his habit of cracking his knuckles resounded through the room. It was his tell that he was thinking.

"Has he been authorized for WitSec?" he asked.

"Not yet. He said he was supposed to talk to the D.A. soon, though. Ben said he was going to push for protective custody," I said, sitting forward. "Know anyone in New York?"

His eyebrows shot up as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do. But I hate to step on toes, Edward."

"I know," I agreed, "but he sounded worried. And with Volturi, he's right... Trusting anyone in that city could be dangerous."

Al turned to the computer, typing quickly. "Hmm," was all he said for a few minutes as his eyes swept the screen and his fingers continued to pound the keys. "An accountant found shot in his office, but no report on witnesses yet. That's good. If that leaks out, shit will get serious." He glanced around his computer screen. "You want this case?"

I shrugged. "Ben and Ang are good people, and I've been friends with them a long time. I'd hate to see them get hurt. Volturi doesn't play around. If he even suspects someone knows something, he'll put the word out onto the street. No one – not even New York's finest – will be safe, because I'd be willing to be that he's got some of his own men wearing blue."

"True," Uncle Al scoffed, looking back at the screen. "Got a few of those paid-for cops here in Seattle. Just can't prove it."

I nodded, glancing down at my phone that had remained silent.

"He supposed to call you back?" Al asked.

"Yeah. When he knows something or he feels he can't deal with it, but nothing yet."

My uncle closed the laptop and gazed over at me. "I'll call and feel out New York, but I'm going to ask you...are you sure you want a WitSec case? Do you know what it entails?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's considered a long-term detail...however long it takes for the trial to start."

"Well, not only that, but you'll be required to not only keep them outta sight, but escort them to court once the trial actually begins. And then, once they testify, you'll be their handlers when it comes to settling them into their new identities. It will take you away from home for a bit," he explained, and I nodded that I knew that, too, but he was quiet for a second. He sniffed once, glancing through his window out over the bullpen and then back to me. "You'll want Whitlock, I assume?"

"I trust him to have my back at all costs," I stated firmly.

His sigh was deep and weary, but he got up to start pacing. He gazed out his window over the Seattle skyline, shaking his head slowly. His expression was fierce when he turned back to face me.

"Edward..." He sighed again. "I'll only fight for this for you on a few conditions."

I frowned, looking up at him. Gone was my CO, and it his place was the man I'd known my whole life. "What conditions?"

"One," he said, holding up a single finger. "You'll sober up as of right this minute because I can't have you taking possession of a WitSec detail smelling like a fucking brewery." When I opened my mouth to argue, he held up a hand. "Look, I know it's your off time, and I get blowing off steam, but Edward, it's time to slow this shit down. Going out with the guys is one thing, but I want you at your very fucking sharpest if I do this. I can't have you at anything other than your best. Got me, son?"

I nodded, feeling a little admonished, but I understood where he was coming from. "And?" I asked.

"And two..." His expression softened a little. "You'll go see your parents. Carlisle called up here looking for you." He stopped me from interrupting again. "And I do mean _see_ them. Go to the house, eat your mom's cooking, do laundry like a good mooching son should. Because I'm telling you now, Ed, this is dangerous shit. If we get this detail – which is something I can't promise – then your ducks better be in a row...all lined up and pretty."

I huffed a slight laugh but said, "Okay. And?" I knew he wasn't finished.

"And...pack. You and Whitlock. Be at the ready." He raised an eyebrow at me. "I want to know the second your friend calls you. Caius Volturi won't stay in the dark for long, and if he catches wind that someone saw him off this accountant, the NYPD will have a war on their hands. Now...get outta my grill. I need to make a call."

I grinned as I stood up and shook his hand. "Yes, sir."

He tugged me into a rough hug. "Go see your parents. You haven't talked to them since before the Hendricks case."

"Okay, okay. I'll go see them tomorrow for Sunday lunch."

~oOo~

"Mom! I can do my own clothes," I sighed exasperatedly, gripping my hair.

"Nonsense," she scoffed, pushing and shoving me out to the back deck. "It's not every day that you let me spoil you. Now...go smoke before you pull your hair out at the roots."

Grinning, I kissed her cheek. "I'll remember you said that when you're giving me shit about smoking at a later date."

My mother simply hummed in agreement and turned back toward the garage. I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and lit one, letting the acrid smoke calm my nerves and settle my mind, not to mention it was perfect after the big-ass meal she'd just fed me. The night was cool and calm.

I'd dropped Jasper off at his apartment after we'd left the Marshals' office. I'd told him to be prepared, to pack just in case we had to go. He'd been shocked that Al had agreed, but took it all in stride. I'd gone back to my place to pack a preliminary bag, gather my laundry up, and finally catch up on some sleep. I'd slept in, only to wake up to a text from Al stating that Volturi had been arrested and brought in for questioning.

It felt good to be home, though this wasn't the house I'd grown up in. My parents had moved out of Forks and into Seattle once I'd returned from Georgia and had been placed with Uncle Al. It proved an even better move for them once Rose and Emmett announced that they were expecting. With my dad's medical career and my mother's part-time interior design company, they'd bought a beautiful house in one of the nicer neighborhoods of Seattle.

The sliding glass doors opened, and I spun to see my dad step out with two glasses of brandy in his hand, smiling up at me.

"Want one?" he offered.

"Nah, but thanks," I told him, flicking the ashes off the end of my cigarette over the deck.

"It's good to see you, son," he sighed as he took a seat at the table. He gestured for me to sit with him, and I grabbed the ashtray that my mother kept around and set it down at the table in front of me.

"Yeah, I know. I've been busy, Dad," I groaned, taking a long drag and exhaling the smoke through my nose. "The bike's been giving me shit, and then we had that escaped fugitive..."

He smiled, holding up his hand. "No need to explain. Just...check in occasionally." I chuckled, but he frowned, asking, "What's wrong with the bike?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "She was misfiring, so I started to tune her up. I just haven't had a chance to get her back up and running."

"Want some help?" he offered.

I grinned, knowing that despite his clean doctor's hands, he loved to tinker on my old bike. "Yeah, but not—"

My phone bleeped an alert, and I tugged it out of my pocket, reading a message from Uncle Al at the same time my mother joined us at the table.

_The shit hit the fan, Ed. Word leaked out that there were witnesses. Your friend better call me soon._

"Shit," I hissed, shaking my head and answering him back that I'd gotten his message.

"Edward?" my mom called, placing her hand on mine. "Everything all right?"

I frowned because they needed to know that there was a possibility that I'd have to take this WitSec detail, but I couldn't tell them anything about the whos, whats, or whens.

Lighting another cigarette, I blew out a large huff. "Ben called from New York... Jasper and I... We may have to take a case. If we do, then you need to know that I'll be gone for a while."

"How long?" Mom asked, her eyes filling with worry.

I grimaced, shaking my head. "There's no way of knowing. Weeks? Months?"

Dad's eyes narrowed. "Witness protection," he guessed, and I nodded, my eyes following him as he stood up abruptly. "Can you tell us anything?"

"No, not really. Only that it's witnesses in a homicide," I murmured. "We'll have to keep them outta sight until the trial."

Dad sighed, looking to me. "Sounds dangerous."

"It's what I _do_," I urged, smashing out my cigarette in the ashtray. "It's what I'm _trained_ to do. It's my _job_. I know you don't get it—"

"That's not what he's saying, sweetheart," Mom said, stepping in like always. "We'll just worry. That's all."

The shrill ring of my phone made us all jump, but I snatched it up, snapping, "Cullen."

"Edward," Ben sighed wearily. "I can't keep these girls in this city. Nowhere is safe. Tell me you pulled some strings."

"Yeah, I did. I'll get with my CO. We'll be in touch ASAP," I explained, walking into the house and gathering up my keys and my laundry basket. He thanked me, and I turned around and called Al.

"Chambers."

"We're a go for New York," I stated.

"Meet me at the office after you grab Whitlock," he ordered.

"Sir." I ended the call, only to turn to see my parents watching. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," my mother said, rushing to hug me. She kissed my cheek, whispering, "You be so careful, Edward."

I nodded, kissed her back, and turned to my dad, who tugged me into a hug. "I'll be okay."

"You'd better be," he whispered, patting my back. "You got a bike to finish."

Smiling, I nodded. "And you promised you'd help."

He nodded and ruffled my hair like he had when I was a kid. "Go, son. Be safe."

Before I hit the door, I turned back to see my dad's arm wrapped around Mom's shoulder, holding her close.

"Do me a favor?" They nodded, and I continued, "Tell Rose and Emmett for me? I'll be thinking of them and the baby."

Dad scoffed. "Not on your life, Edward. That one's all yours. Your sister is likely to bite my head off if I call to tell her you're gone and didn't say goodbye yourself."

Laughing, I nodded. "Yeah, I figured. All right, I'll call 'em from the road."

"Call when you can," Mom pleaded, worry filling her voice and her eyes.

I nodded and left before she could beg me not to go.

Once I was in the car and on the road, I called Jasper.

"Yo!" he answered.

"Be ready to go in fifteen."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: I just want to remind everyone that "WitSec" means Witness Security. Jen and I are also aware that there are some rules being bent – well, okay...broken – when it comes to Ben and Angela. They could be on the same force, just not partners. For the sake of fiction, we're going with it. :)**

**I want to thank everyone for the amazing and explosive reception Jenny and I got on the first chapter of this new adventure! :) Review and let us know what you thought of chapter two, okay? And I wanted to remind you that teasers, pics, and questions can also be asked of us on Facebook and Twitter. See our profile for links. :)**

**We'll see you next Sunday! :) Until then... Mooches, Deb :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N #1: You guys are insane! Your reaction to our story has us giddy and absolutely over-the-moon. We love you for it. Seriously. Keep it up! I know you wanted the boys to meet up with the girls last chapter, but that didn't happen. Have no fear, the gang is all together by the end of this one, I promise. So go on. Read. Enjoy. And please, let us know what you think! Lots of hugs, Jen (Oh, and once again, thank you to all our prereaders & our lovely beta, mskathy, who red pens our little story even when she's busy with real life! Mwah!)  
**

~oOo~

**Chapter 3**

**Marie POV**

Jesus, it had been a long day. I scrubbed my hand over my face, trying to wake up enough to focus on what Ben was saying. He'd just gotten to the motel, and not only had he brought our bag from the other place, he'd also stopped and picked up dinner. We had fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, green beans, and biscuits, as well as drinks from the pop machine outside the motel office. Way too much food, especially since neither Mary nor I were particularly hungry, but apparently Ben could put away food like he was a football player.

"So, after checking all your stuff for bugs, the guys helped me get free of the tail I picked up as I left the hotel," he explained around a mouthful of potatoes and green beans. "From there, I parked in a garage, picked up the borrowed car that my friend Tyler brought me, and let him take my car back to the station." Taking a big swig from his can of Coke, he finished, "I changed jackets and put on a hat and sunglasses, so in different clothes and a new car, no one recognized me, so no one followed me out of the garage."

"Did you talk to Shelly?" Angela had the grace to wait to take her bite until she'd finished talking, chewing the piece of chicken slowly while Ben nodded.

"I did. It's ours if we need it. She's going to call the neighbor who has a key so she can get in to water the plants and tell her that someone will be by to get it in the next couple of days. She didn't ask what we needed it for, and I didn't tell her, of course." He looked over at Mary and me. "Assuming Edward and Jasper approve it, that's where we'll move you next and where – hopefully – you'll stay until the trial is over."

I raised an eyebrow. "Edward and Jasper?"

"U.S. marshals," Angela answered. "We've known Edward since high school. I know you haven't made the decision yet for sure that you want to go into the WitSec program, but Ben and I need help keeping you safe, and Edward and his partner Jasper are your best bet at that."

"Can you..." Mary's voice trailed off as she looked at me. At my nod, she continued. "Can you tell us some more about witness protection?"

Ben nodded slowly. "We can tell you what little we know, sure. Edward and Jasper will be able to fill you in on more." He swallowed another drink of Coke before speaking again. "Basically, you would sign on with the Witness Security Program, and after the Department of Justice approves it, the marshals will protect you and keep you hidden up to and throughout the trial. You'll be assigned new identities, including names, social security numbers, birthdays, and histories. They will help you find a new place to live, a new job, and you'll be given a stipend to help you start out your new life."

"And we would never be able to come back to New York?"

Mary looked slightly upset at that, but I wasn't nearly as sad at the thought. Sure, New York had been great – until recently, of course – but it wasn't home. Home had been with Gran in Florida and, before that, with our parents. I'd never had a lot of friends here in the city, so as long as I had Mary with me, I didn't give much of a fuck where we lived.

"What about our names?" I asked. "You said new names..."

Angela nodded and answered for Ben. "Edward and Jasper can tell you more, but you'll definitely get a new last name. Whether or not you can keep your first names, I don't know."

"And we won't be safe here, even after we've already testified?" I pushed, wondering why we couldn't just be protected through the trial and then be allowed to go home.

Angela shook her head, frowning. "I don't think so, honey. I'm sorry. If it were a regular citizen you were testifying against, I'd say yes, absolutely. But with Caius Volturi, I'm afraid the Volturi family will want to exact revenge for your testimony and will go to great lengths to find and kill you, then use your deaths as an example of what happens to people who go up against them."

Grabbing my hand, Mary asked, "But we'd get to stay together?"

Ben spoke this time, pushing his plate away. "Yes, Edward assured me on the phone that if you chose WitSec, you would be able to stay together."

Mary looked at me, tears in her eyes, and squeezed my hand. "We have to do it, Ree. We can't take the chance. We're the only family we have left, so whether our names are Marie and Mary Brandon or Gladys and Barbara Smith, as long as we're together, we'll be okay."

Feeling my own eyes well up with tears, I took a deep breath and then nodded, looking over at Angela and Ben. "Okay, then. I guess we're in."

After filling out the paperwork needed to officially put in our request to be admitted into the WitSec program, Ben excused himself. "I'm going to send this in to the DOJ and then catch up on paperwork from some of our other cases. I'll be back with Edward and Jasper in the morning." He kissed Angela quickly, smiled at Mary and me, and then left the room.

Mary stood and looked around. "I'm going to take a shower," she mumbled, turning to the bag on the bed and pulling out her sleep clothes.

As soon as the bathroom door shut, I grabbed my tablet and opened up the book I was in the middle of reading, the latest in a popular romance series. After Mary finished in the shower, I planned to do the same and then try to get some sleep. It had been a damn long couple of days.

By the time I had read three chapters, I realized I hadn't heard the shower start yet. I didn't hear anything from the bathroom to indicate Mary was even in there. Scared, I dropped my tablet and raced to the bathroom, sure that one of Volturi's men had found the little window at the top of the wall and somehow dragged my sister out of there without us hearing.

Knocking quickly, I said, "Mare? Everything okay?"

There was a sniffle, but nothing more.

I tried again. "Mary, come on, sweetie. You're scaring me. Are you hurt?"

A louder sniffle came through the door, and then she answered, "I'm fine. Go away!"

I waited, trying to decide what to do, when I heard the sniffles turn into a cry, and when that cry turned into a sob, I decided to hell with it and opened the door, glad she hadn't locked it.

Mary was curled up on the floor of the bathroom, face buried in her knees as she cried. Her body was trembling, her fingers gripping her arms as she held them wrapped around her knees.

"Oh, Mare, please don't cry," I gasped, dropping down in front of her and trying to pull her into my arms; she was stiff and unyielding, not moving an inch from her position. "It's all going to be okay, I promise," I tried to assure her. "They will keep us safe, and then we get to start over. Reinvent ourselves, ya know? We'll get to see a part of the country we've never seen before, get to be whoever we want to be, and—"

Mary's head flew up, and the expression on her face was one I hadn't seen since Lisa Francis had deliberately thrown her punch on Mary's new dress during our junior prom. "It is _not_ going to be okay! Quit saying that!" She scrambled to her feet, tears coursing down her cheeks as I started trying to calm her. "It's not! If we aren't killed before the trial's over, our lives will be over anyway. We'll never be Marie and Mary Brandon again.

"You said we would get to be whoever we want to be... You may not like being Marie Brandon anymore, but... What if I like being Mary Brandon? Did you ever think of that? You may not like your life, but I like mine! I have a great job. What am I going to do, wherever they decide to move us? Huh? Did you ever think of that?"

"Mary, I... You'll find something. We don't know that you won't be able to—"

"It won't be the same!" Mary yelled, whirling around to face me, finger pointed at my chest.

I knew what she was about to say, and while I couldn't disagree, I knew it would still hurt to hear.

"This is All. Your. Fault," she seethed. "If you hadn't forgotten your damn cell phone – again! – we wouldn't have had to stop by your office. You're the reason I'm having to uproot my entire life and move somewhere I won't know anyone. And you just stand there acting like it's no big deal, that it's an adventure. Well, it's not!" she screamed. "It's not going to be an adventure, and it's not going to be okay!"

Before I could blink, she turned around and ran out of the bathroom and to the door of the room, where she fumbled with the locks.

Angela held her hand up as I started to run after her. "Stay in here and lock the door behind me. She needs space, so I'll go with her and keep her safe while she gets some air."

Then she was gone, leaving me with nothing but the pain in my heart and the echo of Mary's angry words in the empty room.

Once I'd locked the door, I collapsed on the bed, my own tears flowing in earnest now. Mary was right. I was constantly forgetting my cell phone – either at work or at home. She had been on me for years to be more responsible with it, especially after I'd lost the first iPhone I'd ever bought...and then the second. If I had just listened and learned my lesson, we never would have been at the office Friday night. Eleazar Denali would still be dead, but we wouldn't be in danger.

Mary hadn't been right about everything, though, I realized as my heart clenched in my chest. I loved being Marie Brandon. For the most part, I loved my life. I didn't want to start over as someone new in a brand new place any more than she did. I knew we would survive – thrive, even – as long as we had each other, but... I was scared down to my soul that something would happen to one or both of us before they could move us across the country.

Of course, if Mary never forgave me, the Volturis wouldn't have to kill me. Heartbreak alone would do it for them.

With that thought, I finally gave in to all the stress and let my tears swell into sobs come that I'd been working so hard to hold back, and with the tears came the nerves and sick-to-my-stomach feeling that had been plaguing me since Friday night. Holding my hand over my mouth, I ran to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet in time.

My stomach finally settled enough that I felt like I could stand without vomiting, so I moved to the sink and rinsed my mouth out as best I could. Mary had brought in the bag with our toothbrushes in it, so I pulled mine out and cleaned my teeth, thanking the Lord that my sister had thought far enough ahead to include the mouthwash we both liked. Once my mouth tasted clean, I went back into the room and quickly changed out of my jeans and put on my sleep pants before crawling onto the bed and hugging the extra pillow to my chest.

It wasn't long after I'd climbed into bed that the door opened and Mary came rushing into the room. I heard Angela close and lock the door, but my attention was totally focused on my sister.

"I'm so sorry," she chanted over and over again as she threw herself into my arms. "I didn't mean it, really. It's not your fault, and I shouldn't have said it was. Please forgive me! I'm not mad at you, Ree, I swear. I know we'll be okay – Angela swears Edward is really good at what he does and that she would put her life in his hands. And I know we'll be together in Seattle or wherever they put us, and that's what matters. I'm sorry!"

I clung to her as she shook in my arms, clutching the back of my T-shirt in her fists. "Mare, it's okay. I'm not mad. I know you didn't mean it, sweetie. Come on, Mary Alice. Remember what Dad always said?"

Mary laughed through her tears, pulling back to look at me. "Tough times don't last. Tough people do. Although wasn't that originally Gregory Peck?"

"Yeah," I laughed, shrugging. "And Mom always said: Don't look back with regret. Look forward with hope." Sighing, I hugged her tight again. "We have to be tough and have hope if we want to make it through the next few months. We can do it if we do it together, yeah?"

Nodding, Mary sighed, finally relaxing against me. "I'm so tired, Ree."

"I know, Mare. Me, too. Go change clothes, take a shower if you want to, and then come to bed, okay?"

She nodded again and then got up and made her way to the bathroom.

I waited, hoping she wasn't going to break down again, but it wasn't long before the shower finally turned on.

Looking over at Angela, I sighed. "Sorry," I mumbled, not sure exactly why I was apologizing but feeling the need to do it anyway.

She smiled gently and shook her head. "Please, no apologies. It's about time you both cracked. You've been holding it all in. I would have been worried if you hadn't gotten it out there."

Nodding, I picked up the television remote and started flipping through channels, trying to find something light and easy to take our minds off real life, if only for a moment.

~oOo~

Mary and I were curled up on the bed, where we'd been the last hour. Angela was sitting at the table reading something on her phone. The movie we'd been watching ended, and I looked over to see Mary asleep beside me, the dim light in the room barely hitting her face as she burrowed farther under the blanket. Turning the volume down as some new random movie began to play, I cleared my throat and looked over at Angela.

"What are...Edward and Jasper like?" I was curious about the two men who would be putting their lives on the line to protect us.

Angela smiled and set down her book, pulling her legs up under her and folding her hands in her lap. "Ben and I have known Edward since we started school. He and Ben became friends the first year of middle school, and it wasn't long into that year that I joined their little duo. The three of us became close then and stayed close all the way through our senior year.

"After graduation, Edward went to UW – the University of Washington in Seattle – while Ben and I came here to New York to join the NYPD. It had been a dream of ours for years to be a part of the best police force in the country, and we decided it was worth coming straight here, rather than going to college first. Anyway, once Edward graduated from UW, he spent a year in Georgia at the Marshals' training facility. He's been in Seattle since."

"What's he like? I mean, you guys are so great, he has to be a good guy...and I doubt you'd have called him if he were bad at his job."

She chuckled. "He's...tough. He may come across as gruff and he can sometimes be an asshole, but he's damn good at his job, and he's as loyal as the day is long. He loves his family and is here for us when we need him, no questions asked. When..." Her voice broke. The pain in her eyes was evident, even in the low light of the lamp from the bedside table. She cleared her throat before continuing. "When Daniel was killed, Edward took a leave of absence and came up here to stay with us for several weeks. I'm not sure what we'd have done without him."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I just nodded and stayed quiet.

"Anyway," she said with a sigh and a shake of her head, "Edward met Jasper in Georgia during training, and they became quick friends. Edward told his uncle – he's Edward's direct boss – about Jasper, and they were both placed in Seattle as partners after training." She grinned. "Jasper is a true southern gentleman, born and raised in Texas. We've only met him a couple of times, but he's a charmer, that one. He doesn't always let his cute little southern accent through, but when he does... Whew!" She fanned her face and giggled.

"Oh Lord," I huffed, laughing along with her. "Mary is a goner, then. She's a sucker for a southern accent."

Angela grinned. "He'll be a professional – they both will – but he'll charm her, I'm sure. Edward, on the other hand... I don't know. He'll probably seem aloof, a little standoffish, but it's only because he feels like that's all he can be when he's trying to do his best work. He really does have a soft, marshmallowy center under the tough outer exterior."

I smiled, thinking that he sounded a lot like my dad had when he was alive.

"He was always sticking up for whoever needed him when we were in school. His sister Rose...she's the same age – stepsister, not twin – and...well...she, uh, developed pretty early. By the time she was twelve, she looked about sixteen. So guys were always coming on to her. One time, the four of us – Edward, Rose, Ben, and I – went to the movies in Port Angeles, about forty-five minutes from our small town of Forks. Edward's mom dropped us off and bought all the tickets, then said she would be back after the movie was over to pick us up.

"While in line for popcorn, Rose started getting hit on by these high school boys. She tried to tell them she was only twelve, but they wouldn't listen. Edward stepped in and told them to leave his sister alone, even though they were almost twice his size. They knocked his drink out of his hands, calling him names like _little boy_. When one reached out to tug at Rose's hair, Edward punched him. Luckily, the manager stepped in then before the guy could retaliate, and the older boys had to leave the theater, but Edward truly became Rose's hero that day."

I smiled, thinking of a little boy, not even a teenager yet, standing up to older boys in defense of his sister. "He sounds sweet," I told her softly.

Angela nodded. "He was already Ben's hero before that, even before they truly became friends... You've seen my husband." She chuckled. "He's never been a big guy. When he was a kid, he was short and scrawny, always one of the smallest in our class. In third grade, a new kid moved to town. He was a real bully – biggest kid in class, tough, smart mouth... Anyway, like all bullies, he picked on the easy targets first, and Ben was definitely an easy target back then. The kid cornered him on the playground, and Edward was the only one to come over and make him stop. He got a black eye for it, but he shook it off like it was no big deal."

I laughed through my yawn, feeling my eyes growing heavy. "My dad would have liked him. He was all about standing up for the little guy."

Smiling, Angela said, "Get some sleep, Marie. Morning will be here before you know it."

I nodded and relaxed back against the pillow, feeling myself falling asleep as soon as my eyes closed.

~oOo~

Sometime later, the ring of a cell phone woke me, and I listened as Angela quickly answered.

"Hey," she said, her voice quiet. "Oh good, they got here okay?...Yeah, I bet...No, why don't you see if you can grab the room next to us. They're asleep, so there's no point in—"

"We're awake," Mary said from beside me.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. "Mm, yeah. We're up. Have 'em bring coffee." I didn't usually drink the stuff, but I needed the jolt of caffeine.

Angela looked at us. "They can wait until morning. It's only three o'clock." When we shook our heads, she said into the phone, "All right. Go ahead and come here, then. And stop at the gas station down the...oh, you heard. Okay, then. See you in a few."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Get in my office! Both of you," Al snapped the second we walked in the door. He pointed toward the hallway, but his cell was pressed to his ear.

The bullpen was a beehive of activity – phones ringing, computer screens being scrutinized, dry-erase boards filling with info, and loud conversations. Jasper and I walked through the large room, catching advice thrown at us from several directions. Some of it was good, some of it was joking, and some was stuff we knew already. But every bit of it was a wish for good luck and a goodbye of sorts because we didn't know how long we'd be gone.

Uncle Al followed us to his office, slamming the door once we were all inside. He spun to face us after tossing his cell to his desk.

"Tell me again, Edward, why you want this WitSec detail," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for nonsense.

I frowned, adjusting my tie and then suit jacket. I wasn't used to having to dress up all the time. Usually, it was jeans and a USMS T-shirt. But I cleared my throat and met my uncle's eyes.

"Ben and Angela lost their child to a drug deal gone bad. It was Volturi's men, but they could never prove it. He was _two years old_," I told him, holding up two fingers. "A fucking stray bullet caught him and his babysitter in a park. It was the middle of some random fucking day at the goddamn park, Al. They've busted their asses to catch Volturi, and now, they have the chance. I've known them since grade school...people that I grew up with...and they've never asked me for anything. I can fucking do this," I stated, pointing a finger to the top of his desk.

My face was fierce; I knew that much. Even Jasper shifted a little. What I didn't say aloud, what I'd never say aloud, was that I understood why Ben and Angela wanted to keep those witnesses safe. Guys like Volturi took and took and took, never giving anything back but to themselves. They cashed in on other people's loss and misfortune, and it was fucking ridiculous. I'd lost my real father to an asshole like Caius Volturi – something that had caused my mother nightmares for fucking _years_...well after she'd married Carlisle. Ben and Ang had almost lost their will to live after Daniel died. If somehow the witnesses that we were about to meet could put one of the biggest mafia guys away for life, then I'd gladly stand guard.

However, what I didn't have to say out loud, my uncle knew perfectly well, because he studied my face for a beat or two before nodding in acquiescence. He walked over to his desk and picked up an accordion file folder, handing it to me.

"Study that. It's the case file. You'll have enough time on the plane to do it," he stated, taking a deep breath and letting it out. He cracked his knuckles before going on. "You're lucky that New York was willing to concede this to me. In fact, they agreed that the city was riddled with Volturi's men. I've got a favor called in to another friend at the Department of Justice to expedite the approval for new identities. As soon as I know, you'll know. Got me?"

"Sir," Jasper and I answered immediately.

"I have a pretty ugly feeling about this trial," he groaned, grimacing a little. "Volturi will pull out every lawyer trick in the book...and I do mean _every trick_. It'll be motions to suppress evidence and your witnesses, and he'll most likely pay whatever amount of bail to get back out onto the streets. He'll drag it all out, not because he's innocent, but because it'll give him enough time to find you, find those witnesses."

I nodded, agreeing with that theory.

He pointed at the two of us. "I need you sharp, on point, and at your absolute best. Not only did we fuck up all sorts of protocol doing things this way and have to show we can handle it, but you'll be a moving target." He snorted, shaking his head and walking to me, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder. "That...and I don't want to have to tell your parents if something went wrong. You and me clear on this, son?" he asked me specifically.

"Yeah, Al. Crystal."

"Good," he growled, walking back to his desk. "That's why I'm personally overseeing this. You'll report directly to me. No other. If it's not me, then don't you believe shit that you hear. You can ask me questions to verify I am who I say I am." He bent down, grabbing a small black duffel bag. "This has a few throw-away phones. I'll keep you posted through those, unless they're compromised. There are a few other personal gadgets in there, as well – a free and clear laptop, a couple of unregistered guns, and two old-school walkie-talkies. Those are for the two of you...just in case you need to separate."

"Sir," we said, and Jasper took the bag, riffling around inside of it before zipping it back up and tossing it onto his shoulder.

"Okay," he said, clapping his hands together once. "Let's get you on a plane. I've spoken to your friend Cheney. He'll be expecting you at One Police Plaza as soon as you land." He grabbed the doorknob, pausing to look us over. "Ben seems to think he's got a leak at One PP, so watch what you say and who you say it to. Sharp, gentleman," he stated one more time before opening his door.

Jasper left the office, but Uncle Al stopped me, turning me around.

"Did you see your parents?"

I grinned. "Yeah, dinner, laundry...everything."

"Good. What about Rosie?"

I sighed, my brow wrinkling. "I called her on my way here. She's worried, but she gets it. Promise me you'll watch over her, Uncle Al. If anything goes wrong with the baby, I'll..."

"I got you," he vowed, patting the side of my face. "Maybe you'll skip all those crazy mood swings and come back to the title of Uncle yourself, huh?" he asked with a wink.

I frowned and stared at the floor, hating that I could possibly miss so much, but this was the life I'd chosen.

"Well, one day, maybe you'll return the favor and make Rose an aunt, yeah?" he chortled.

Glaring at him, I then rolled my eyes. "Not happening, asshole."

He laughed at me, but it stopped quickly. "Edward, I love you like you're my own son, but you're almost twenty-seven – too old for this college bullshit attitude you have. One day..." He grinned at me. "One day, a girl will come along and knock you on your ass."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "Oh, you mean like Jane?"

He popped the back of my head. "Jane was a mistake, though having Katie salvaged it. No...I tried to replace Irina, and it's impossible. I wanted everything with Irina."

The sadness at the mention of his college sweetheart was hard to miss. Al had been on his own WitSec detail when she'd been driving home from work during a rainstorm. She'd lost control of the car, plowing into oncoming traffic. She'd only been twenty-eight years old...and expecting their first child.

As much as I felt for him, I simply shook my head. I never found the Irinas of the world...usually, it was the Janes. Or the Maggies. I sighed at the thought of her, trying my damnedest not to sneer. No...I'd tried the "everything" once. All I got out of it was an empty bank account and an STD scare, not to mention a black eye when I beat the ever-loving shit out of my college roommate.

Al's eyes narrowed on me for a moment, but he simply nodded. "You'll get it." He smiled sadly, hugging me roughly. "You'd better come back to me. Understand?"

"Completely, Uncle Al," I told him.

He patted the side of my face one more time. "Okay. Let's do this."

~oOo~

"And people say Seattle is gloomy," Jasper muttered, giving the damp night a scathing glare as we made our way to the car we'd rented. It was well past two in the morning, New York time.

I grinned, shaking my head and tucking the file folder under my arm. "Whatever. You drive. I still want to look through this file."

"We had _eight hours_ on that plane. You should have it memorized," he argued, though he still walked to the driver's side door.

"I do," was all I said, tossing my bags into the trunk and falling into the passenger seat.

Jasper merely snickered at me and cranked the car and made his way out of the parking lot. Cracking open the file, I perused it again. Eleazar Denali was working late at his office. He was found with three bullets – two to the pump and one to the head. Typical hit. Marie Brandon, who worked for Denali, had shown up at the wrong time with her sister Mary. According to the girls' statements, they'd seen not only Caius Volturi, but his right-hand asshole, Felix, walk out, discussing getting rid of the murder weapon.

From what I could put together from all the records from Denali's office, the man had been fudging numbers for Volturi for years. He'd been laundering money – taking in dirty funds and sending them out into the world to have it all come back squeaky clean. And no one had been the wiser. Not even Ms. Brandon.

I shut the file and slipped it under my seat, turning to Jasper. "We're going to have serious problems with vengeful goons," I stated, smirking at his chuckle. "Seriously. Volturi is still in holding until first appearance tomorrow. If his lawyer asks for bail, then he'll send out everyone he fucking knows to find those girls. Every bastard that's ever owed him anything will be called in."

"All true, Ed," Jasper agreed. "Wonder what the accountant did to set him off?"

"I can't tell," I replied, gazing out the window, finally giving in and cracking it so that I could smoke. "Maybe he was skimming for himself off the top."

"That'd do it."

We stayed pretty quiet the rest of the drive through the city. Despite the late hour – or early, really – the streets were still busy. We parked, securing our shields in the front of our belts and our guns in the shoulder holsters.

"We're here to see Ben Cheney," I stated to the officer at the front desk.

I was too wired to sit down, so I paced slowly in the front room until the side door finally slammed open.

"Edward," Ben said with a grin, reaching out to shake my hand, but I pulled him into a rough hug.

"How's it going? You remember Jasper Whitlock, right?" I asked, stepping back.

"Yeah, of course. Jasper, it's nice to see you again," Ben greeted, and Jasper nodded, but my old friend looked back to me. "It's been rough, Ed. Follow me to the back. I need to grab a few things before we head out." As we wandered down hallways to an elevator, he explained a few things. "We can't keep them anywhere for long. I got a leak some-damn-where."

"Here?" Jasper asked.

Ben snorted, but his eyes were dark. "Probably." Once we were in the elevator car, he sighed. "I've had my car tracked, every hotel discovered, and those poor girls were attacked in their own home."

My brow furrowed. "And this place you've found..."

"Long Island."

"Who have you told about it?" I asked.

"Ang. That's it."

"Keep it that way. Not a word. To anyone. Got me? If anyone asks you, it's now our jurisdiction, and you can't say...or don't know."

He nodded, stepping out when the doors slid open. "Trust me, I'm glad you're here, Edward."

The large office was fairly busy for the middle of the damn night, but what was even more interesting were the looks Jasper and I were receiving. We weren't really stepping on toes, but sometimes, cops could be fucking territorial when it came down to cases.

"Who knows that you called me..._me_ specifically?" I asked him softly once we made it to his desk and no one was nearby.

"You." He grinned. "I'm not stupid. As far as these assholes go, the U.S. Marshal Service is here to take possession of two witnesses. That's it."

Ben gathered up some files, took out a set of keys from his pocket, and opened a side drawer on his desk. He pulled out a lumpy manila folder and handed it to me. "Hold onto that."

"Yup," I stated, not even bothering to look at it. "So what can you tell me about these girls?"

Ben smiled, and this time, it was warmer. "Marie and Mary. I swear Ang will adopt them before this is all over." He chuckled a little, shaking his head, but went on. "They're scared shitless, Ed. They're tired and overwhelmed, and I swear the light in their eyes dimmed even more when we filled out the WitSec paperwork."

I grimaced, glancing over at Jasper, whose eyes were narrowed in on a cop in street clothes, badge hooked into his belt and shoulder holster clearly visible, across the room. The guy looked like he was trying his damnedest to eavesdrop.

Ben noticed but went on. "They're good girls. Polite. They've followed every rule and precaution we've slung their way. Ang called a bit ago." His eyes met mine. "They're melting down...at each other and themselves. They need rest and quiet and safety, shit I can't give them if I'm moving them constantly."

Nodding, I sighed. I was just about to ask another question when we were interrupted.

"Ah, the Feds are here," the guy from across the office said with a grin.

My eyes narrowed on him as the hackles on the back of my neck prickled. The guy was young – younger than Ben and me – clean cut, with an expensive haircut and a smarmy smile. What was more interesting was the Rolex on his wrist that most likely cost more than a year's salary for an NYPD detective.

"Detective Riley Biers, meet U.S. Marshals Cullen and Whitlock," Ben introduced, his voice void of any inflection.

Jasper and I shook the guy's hand, nodding in greeting.

"Damn shame," he murmured, still wearing that fucking creepy smile. "I'll miss seeing those girls around here. Hottest things to walk through that door in a long time," he stated, huffing a laugh.

"Oh, I don't know, Riley," Ben sang while he rummaged through his desk. "You seemed to like that bust we did on that prostitution ring." And I could tell Ben didn't trust this guy any farther than his scrawny ass could throw him.

"I didn't know that was a man!" Riley snapped, and I couldn't help but laugh, which earned me a glare. "Whatever. You'll enjoy this case, gentlemen. Those girls are... Well, let's just say I wouldn't mind being the meat in that sandwich. Every man's fantasy, right? Twins? Two girls?"

Ben's head snapped up, and he was fighting a smile. He knew me all too well.

I sniffed, shrugging a shoulder. "Hmm...been there, done that. It's not all it's cracked up to be. Someone usually gets jealous," I stated nonchalantly. "Although, twins..." I grimaced, shaking my head and looking to Jasper. "You think about twins?" I asked innocently.

Jasper scoffed. "Nah. Where I come from," he started, letting his thick Texas drawl out in full force, "they call that incest. Damn, and I thought Southerners caught hell for that type of shit. That's illegal in most states, including this one. Cousins are one thing, but sisters?" He pretended to shudder.

Fuck, I loved Jasper. That shut Riley Biers up quickly, especially when Ben snorted softly to himself.

Riley paled a little but then turned serious. "Well, I guess you'll be registering with the NYPD when you get your witnesses settled. Per protocol."

My eyes narrowed again. The fucker was fishing. "We will," I told him vaguely. "That's if we stay in the city, or even this state. I'm aware of protocol. It's up to the discretion of the federal officer in charge as long as no threats are posed. But it won't be now, and it won't be with you."

Biers nodded once and left us, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Fucking asshole."

Ben watched him, finally looking to me. "Let's go."

When we got to our rental car, Ben made a sweep of the wheel wells, the trunk, and the bumpers. "Watch for tails," was all he said before falling into the back seat.

Once we were out on the street, I started to hand him the package back.

"Keep it. And you can give it back to Marie," he stated wearily.

Cracking open the envelope, my eyebrows shot up when I saw a nine millimeter inside. "What the fuck?"

Ben smirked and nodded. "It belonged to their father. It's unregistered, no distinguishing marks, and I never logged it in. Marie used it on the asshole that tried to break into their apartment."

"No shit?" Jasper chuckled.

"None. Got him, too. I just haven't told her," he stated. "Tony Carmine was found in the East River with two bullet wounds from _that_ gun and a fatal shot to the head from another. He'd failed. They killed him."

I turned the gun over in my hands, finally slipping it into the waistband of my pants at the small of my back for safekeeping. Ben pulled out his phone, telling Jasper to watch for tails and just keep driving for a bit.

"Hey, babe," he sighed into the phone. "Yeah, yeah, they're here. They're ready to take this over..." He paused a bit. "I'll see what the motel manager can do for us about the room next door until the girls wake..." He grinned and snickered. "Yeah, I heard them. No problem. I could use a cup myself." After saying goodbye, he tapped Jasper's shoulder. "Up here on the right, there's a little store. Stop and we'll grab some coffee for everyone. The girls are awake, so you can meet them now."

We grabbed six of the biggest cups the store had and enough cream and sugar to probably make ice cream. The Friendly Motel was not in the best of neighborhoods, nor was it exactly a respectable establishment, but at least we hadn't been followed. Or if we were, Jasper had lost them with all his twists and turns getting there. However, not trusting anyone or anyplace at this point, I didn't want to stay there for long.

Ben wanted to grab us the room next door, but I turned to Jasper. "Leave our shit. We're not staying long enough to need it."

"Don't knock the Friendly," Ben said with a chuckle. "It's been the safest place yet."

"I'm not." I laughed as we made our way into the room. "But it's time to get them out of this city."

"Definitely," Jasper agreed, glancing around as Ben knocked lightly on the door.

I grinned at the sight of Angela when the door swung open. "There she is."

"Edward!" she said, running to me, and I hugged her tightly. "It's so good to see you," she gushed, kissing my cheek. "Thank you for doing this..."

"You guys needed me," I stated with a shrug, following her inside as Jasper shut the door behind us.

I gave Ben shit all the time about how pretty his wife was because it was true. Angela was very pretty, a brunette with brown eyes and a sweet smile. However, she'd loved Ben from the get-go, and Angela was easy to like due to the fact that she'd accept people for exactly who they were, without judgment. Looking at her now, I could see that the loss of their son had aged her a little. Sadness still lingered in her warm eyes.

"It's good to see you, too, Ang. Is Ben treating you okay? I asked him, but he's a little liar. 'Cause if he's not..." I teased, grinning when she smacked at my chest.

"Yes, always. Come meet the girls, Edward."

I nodded, but when I looked up, I could see the girls already standing up from the beat-up little table in the corner, sipping their coffee tentatively. Their eyes were taking in Jasper and myself, but with hardly any reaction.

"Girls," Angela said with a smile. "Edward Cullen, Jasper Whitlock, meet Mary and Marie Brandon."

She pointed from right to left, distinguishing between the tiny thing with short, almost-black hair, to the brunette with tired brown eyes. Both were very pretty, almost beautiful, dressed in jeans and T-shirts. From the file, I knew that they were fraternal twins, twenty-five, and had grown up mostly in Florida with their grandmother. While Marie was the logical numbers girl, Mary was the creative mind, a dancer. They were opposites, yet...not. There were similarities between them, and I could see they leaned on each other a lot.

I nodded once to both of them, sipping my own coffee, as Jasper shook the girls' hands. I rolled my eyes when he let his drawl out for the second time that day. Though, it worked. He calmed them a little.

"Well, that's who we are as of _now_, I guess," Mary stated wryly with a shrug of her small shoulder, but I noticed Marie's flinch at what her sister had said.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as we all assessed each other. I understood it. They'd grown attached to Ben and Angela, so being handed over to two perfect strangers was making them nervous. It didn't help that they were exhausted. I could see it all over their faces.

"Girls," Ben started gently as I walked to the window to take in the parking lot. "I think it would be best if you started to get your things together. Once you're awake and ready, we'll get some breakfast."

I watched a kid with the shakes wander down the sidewalk across the street, and I shook my head. Where there were addicts, there were usually dealers. And dealers were usually connected. It didn't help that there was a constant flow of traffic in and out of the motel's parking lot.

"No breakfast," I stated, shutting the curtain. "We need to move. ASAP."

"Edward, they should eat..." Angela started to argue.

I nodded. "They will. But not here."

"It's okay," Marie murmured softly. "I'm not really hungry yet," she added, and her sister nodded in agreement. "Come on, Mare. We'll get our things together."

They stepped into the bathroom, and I could hear zippers of luggage opening and closing and water running.

"Hey," Angela whispered, poking my chest. "Go easy on them. This hasn't been exactly fun. They're losing everything."

"I'm aware, Ang," I told her. "But I'll feel better once we're out of here. Okay? We'll stop somewhere along the way."

Surprisingly, the girls were ready – bags and coffee in hand – within minutes. A part of me felt badly that they'd already gotten used to being on the move. It didn't seem fair, but unfortunately, that was how it would be for a while.

Mary turned to Ben. "Are you leaving us now?"

"No," he told her. "We're coming as far as the next house." He turned to me. "We'll help secure it with you before we head back. Okay?"

"That works," Jasper conceded, smacking my shoulder. "But I'm hungry."

"We'll stop," I vowed, rolling my eyes. "But not in this fucking city. Ben, we'll follow you and watch your six."

Ben led us down the motel's hallway, and I reached down to take Marie's bag and then Mary's. Jasper popped the trunk, and I tossed the bags quickly in on top of ours, slamming the trunk closed.

Turning to the girls, I said, "Hop in." I gave the parking lot a long, slow gaze as I held the back door open. The two slid in one right after the other at the same time Jasper took the driver's seat. Once I was in the front, I turned to Marie and Mary. "I know you're tired and scared. And I know this is a lot of fucked-up shit to take in, but I need you to listen to everything Jazz and I tell you. Okay?"

Both girls nodded, wide-eyed and quiet.

"Good," I huffed with a single nod. "Buckle up."

~oOo~

**A/N #2: Okay, the girls are officially in the guys' care. :)**

**I want to answer a big topic brought up to me personally...openly and privately. Sundays are the posting days. Once a week. I KNOW some of you guys are used to me posting twice a week, but that's not the case with this story. I'm sorry, but this is a rather different plot that needed time and attention to detail. We are, however, posting teasers on Facebook and Twitter on Wednesdays. Feel free to join us. All the links are on our profile. :)**

**I want to thank TWCS for making us a featured story. :) And I want to thank everyone for their contagious excitement and continued encouragement. If someone recommended us to you, please let us know! We'll see you Wednesday for the teaser and then again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N #1: You people are crazy. That's all. ;) Really, your response has been amazing, and it's hard to believe we're only just now on chapter 4. There's so much great stuff coming that we can't wait to share it with you! To answer one quick question... Right now, we're looking at right around 30 chapters. There may be a few more after that, but not many. So we've got a long way to go! Now, read on to see what our little group is up to. ;) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 4**

**Marie POV**

I was aware of little as Jasper drove the dark gray Ford Taurus down I-495. It was still the middle of the night, just before four o'clock, so it was dark outside, if you didn't count the headlights from passing cars and lights alongside the interstate. The area was populated enough that there were plenty of small housing developments and businesses that ran alongside the busy road, so it didn't feel exactly like we were in the middle of nowhere, but I still felt plenty alone, even with Mary beside me and our two guards in the front seat.

_Guards..._

I supposed they weren't guards in the sense that we were prisoners, but they were our bodyguards for all intents and purposes, so the word fit nonetheless. Whatever I called them, they were there to protect us, so I was thankful – even as I hated them for why they were there and why we needed them in the first place.

I'd been right about Mary when I'd told Angela she'd be a goner. Jasper Whitlock had been very calm, very friendly when he'd shaken our hands and said hello. He'd made us instantly feel at ease with two strange men in the small motel room. His southern accent had flowed like warm honey and...as odd as it seemed...felt like the hugs my mother used to give us when we were young. He was tall and lean, close to a foot taller than me and well over a foot taller than Mary, with hazel eyes and dark blond hair, several inches longer in the front, in the style that was popular at the moment. Mary hadn't been able to keep her eyes off him, barely looking away to say hello to Edward. Even now, she kept darting her eyes between her lap, the window, and the back of Jasper's head.

Edward, on the other hand, was darker – in personality and in looks. He'd been gruff, just like Angela had said, and almost impersonal. Not impolite, really, just professional and distant. When he'd instructed us to listen to whatever he and Jasper told us, his voice had softened almost imperceptibly, but he'd still been slightly intimidating. But damn, the man was sexy. I wasn't interested – shit, that was the furthest thing from my mind at the moment – but I couldn't deny that my eyes had wanted to drink up the sight of him. His hair was short, only slightly longer in the front, and a beautiful shade of brownish red, and his eyes were a piercing shade of green I'd never encountered naturally before. Even through his white dress shirt, I'd been able to see the muscles of his chest and stomach. His sleeves were rolled up on his forearms, and as he'd lifted our bags, I'd seen the muscles tense and flex, which had left me breathless for a moment. It had also exposed a hint of ink on his forearm, although I'd only caught a glimpse, not wanting to stare. Knowing the man had at tattoo – at least one – told me that there was a rebel underneath the tight-ass straight man he'd seemed to be projecting since I'd met him, and that did nothing to assuage the lust that flared every time I looked at him.

But as mouth-wateringly sexy as he was, I wasn't interested. Not when our lives were on the line and our futures were up in the air.

A phone ringing brought me out of my musings and I looked away from the window to see Edward raise his cell phone to his ear.

"Yeah?...Okay, we'll follow you." He ended the call and looked to Jasper. "Ben's going to pull off the interstate to hit a McDonald's."

"He know to park—"

"In a dark spot in the back? Yeah." Edward turned slightly in his seat to look at the two of us. "Can you ladies wait to use the bathroom until we get to the house? We have another half hour or so."

We nodded, and he must have seen it in the dim light shining through the window, because he continued, "Ben and Jasper will go in and grab the food while Angela and I stay out with the two of you. You won't get out of the car, and if I tell you to get down, I want you to hit the floor and keep your head down. Got me?"

"Yeah," we answered, our voices quiet.

Edward sighed, and when he spoke again, his tone was softer. "I don't anticipate any trouble. We've been keeping an eye out, and we haven't noticed anyone following us. But better to hear the instructions and not need them than to assume and then not know what to do if surprises crop up, okay?"

"Thanks," Mary said, sighing before turning her gaze to Jasper's head.

The man was giving me whiplash. I wasn't sure about what to think of his seemingly ever-changing mood. He was brusque one minute, barking out orders like I was two years old, yet he could turn it around and make me feel like I was fragile, a skittish colt that would bolt at the slight wrong movement or harsh tone of voice. Like the tattoo on his arm, it was a contradiction that would make my head spin if I let it.

Ten minutes later, we took the exit behind Ben and Angela and turned right, quickly pulling into the parking lot under the golden arches. Jasper drove around back and parked in a dark corner, between the big green dumpster and Ben's car. Mary and I sat still as Edward and Jasper got out of the car and moved around to talk to the other two.

Ben poked his head in moments later and smiled gently. "You two hanging in there?"

"Yeah, thanks," I told him as Mary nodded.

"Well then, may I take your orders, ladies?"

"Fruit and yogurt parfait," Mary answered quickly.

I started to tell him I wasn't hungry, but it had been too long since I'd eaten much at all, and I knew I needed to eat to keep up my strength. "Sausage biscuit," I said with a shrug. Nothing sounded good, but hopefully the greasy food would help my mood.

Nodding, Ben closed the door and gave it a pat, and I watched him speak to Jasper and Angela before I turned back around to face the front.

"Okay, I know it's really not the time," Mary said quietly, causing me to look over at her, "but God, Jasper is so cute!" She giggled, fanning herself. "And that accent? Whew!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, he seems pretty sweet, too."

She nodded and then gave me a wink. "I don't mind being stuck in a house for months on end with those two, that's for sure."

Snorting, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I needed to get out and stretch my legs, but I knew I wouldn't be allowed to, so I tried to empty my mind and just...be for a few minutes. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, the door opened, and I barely held in my scream.

"Shh, Marie. It's just me. I've got your breakfast."

I looked up and Edward was in shadows, his face barely visible from the car's interior light. In his hands were a wax paper-wrapped breakfast sandwich, a cup of coffee, and a cup of orange juice. I took the coffee, jolting at the zing that shot through my body when our fingers grazed against each other's. Reaching down, I set the warm cup in one of the cup holders and then looked up at him, taking the sandwich and orange juice, which is set carefully between my legs.

"Thanks. Sorry, you just startled me."

He shrugged. "No sweat." Holding out his hand, he said, "Uh, here's some milk, too. We weren't sure what you guys would want to drink, so we got some of each. It's got a lid, so you can just set it down if you don't want it." He seemed almost unsure of himself as he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he stopped and put his hand on the door. "Whatever you don't want, just pass up front. Jasper can put away food like nobody's business."

I smiled slightly as he closed my door and moved back to Jasper and Ben, who had their hands full.

Mary's teasing voice pulled my gaze back around. "You like him!"

Chuckling wryly, I said, "Yeah, 'cause that's what I need right now...a man in my life. Get real, Mare. I don't know him well enough to like him. He's hot, yeah, and he seems like he has a good sense of humor if you look hard enough, but that could be said for any number of men that I've never started a relationship with.

"Besides, the man is here to protect us and get us situated in a new life, not to start a romance with his witness. I need to concentrate on staying alive...keeping you alive...and learning how to live as someone other than Marie Brandon, CPA. Dreams of a life with a sexy U.S. Marshal are out of the question."

She frowned but didn't comment further, instead choosing to pop the lid off her parfait and open the spoon as Edward and Jasper climbed back into the car.

"Damn, man. How many of these are you planning to eat?" Edward complained a minute later, picking through the contents of the bag in his hand. "Did you even get me—"

Jasper smirked and winked at us in the rear view mirror. "Yeah, Ed, your two nasty-ass bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle things are in there." He gave a visible shudder. "You ladies want any hashbrowns? We got plenty."

Mary and I both answered in the negative, and after Jasper quickly downed a sausage biscuit in three huge bites, he turned the car on and followed Ben and Angela out of the parking lot and to the interstate.

~oOo~

Thirty minutes after we left McDonald's, we exited Highway 27 into Southampton.

Edward's phone rang again. Putting it to his ear, he said, "Yeah, Ang?...Okay, gotcha. Thanks."

After he hung up the phone, he turned to us. "Ben and Angela are going to go a bit ahead and get off the street to watch as we go by. They'll watch to make sure we aren't being tailed, and then we'll meet them at the house." He smiled in a reassuring manner before turning back to face front.

I watched out the front window as Ben and Angela sped off, leaving us behind. Ten minutes later, Edward's phone beeped.

"All clear. They'll meet us there," he told Jasper.

"How we going to do this?" Jasper asked him.

"Ben said the house has a garage, so just pull up and park in front of it. Ang and Ben will park and go next door to get the key, and then they'll open the garage door for us. We can pull in and close the doors." To us, he said, "Go ahead and slide down to the floor, ladies, so you're hidden from the windows. Although we've been watching for tails and no one should know the location of the house, better safe than sorry if anyone happens to get a glance at the car."

Mary and I scrambled with our seat belts and then dropped down so our heads were below the windows. I leaned down and lay my cheek on my bent knees, wrapping my arms around them. It was cramped, even for us, so hopefully it wouldn't be long before we could get up.

Being unable to see, I startled when Jasper slowed the car and turned, pulling to a stop.

"All right, just stay down for a bit longer," Edward said. "I know there's not a lot of room, but we'll get you out of there as soon as possible."

After what felt like forever, we began to move and the car was suddenly bathed in light as Jasper drove into the garage. I could hear Ben's car pull in beside us and then the garage doors being lowered. Then it was silent as Ben and Jasper turned off the cars.

"Okay, it's safe to get up and out," Edward said gently. "There are no windows in here, so you can get out and stretch your legs."

Mary and I slowly crawled up off the floor and then climbed out of the car. My back popped as I stretched, twisting one way and then the other to loosen up my stiff muscles.

"Well," Ben spoke, making me jump, "I don't think we'll have to worry about a nosy neighbor coming over and trying to be friendly. She wasn't real happy about being woken up at the ass-crack of dawn to give us the key." He chuckled. "I almost expected her to answer the door with a shotgun, the way she was yelling at us that she was coming after I rang the bell the second time."

"She'll live," Edward said with a shrug. "Come on, let's get this done so we can get inside." He looked back at us as he followed Jasper and Ben to the door from the garage into the house. "Stay here until we come back for you. Ang, shoot anyone who tries to come back in here without announcing themselves, you got me?"

She smirked but nodded. "Yes, sir, Deputy Cullen, sir."

"Smart ass." He winked but then was all business as he turned back and followed the other two through the door, shutting it soundly behind him.

"God, I don't know about you," Mary grumbled, "but I have to pee."

I looked over at her and nearly laughed. She was standing beside the car, legs crossed and doing some sort of pee-pee dance, like the little kids in her dance classes when they really had to go.

"It shouldn't take long," Angela promised. "They're going to do a perimeter check and then sweep the house with the scanners to check for bugs."

"Oh, that's what was in the bag Jasper took inside?" I'd wondered, but hadn't wanted to ask.

She shrugged. "Yeah. There won't be any, but...better to do it and be able to relax a little bit."

I nodded, leaning forward with my hands resting on the wall of the garage to stretch my calf muscles. A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I turned back to Angela.

"Hey, if the owners are overseas, where are their cars? Wouldn't they have left them here?"

Smiling, she said, "I remembered Shelly telling us that she and her husband had them so they could turn them on and run them occasionally so they wouldn't just sit the whole time. So I knew the garage would be empty, and that's part of what made me think of this place."

"Gotcha," I murmured, covering my mouth as I yawned.

"Hey, Angela," Mary asked, her voice quiet.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"What'll happen to my studio? I've got classes all this week..."

Angela frowned. "I'll go by there as soon as I can and put up a notice that says it's closed until further notice. I know that's not ideal, but I think it's the best we can do at the moment, okay?"

Mary nodded, looking down with tears in her eyes.

I yawned again and tried to lighten things up a little for my sister. "Damn, I think I could go to sleep and sleep for a week."

Angela looked sympathetically at me. "As soon as we get the all-clear, we can go in and you can do what you need to do. If you want to sleep, you can. Ben and I will probably stay for a bit and then head home, but Jasper and Edward will be here and will keep you safe."

"Sounds good," I told her through another yawn. "Thanks...ya know, for everything you guys are doing to make it easier for us."

She sighed. "No need for thanks, but you're welcome. As long as you're safe, that's all the thanks we need, okay? So just keep listening to Edward and Jasper, and you'll be fine."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Jasper, sweep for bugs," I ordered, gesturing around the room.

"Yup, on it." He unzipped the bag in his hand, taking out a scanner.

A beeping sound reverberated around the room, and I glanced over to Ben, who was checking windows. "Excellent," he said with a grin, gazing around the room. "Looks like motion sensors are on all the windows."

I nodded once, liking that...a lot. "Those can be disabled, you know," I told him, stalking from the living room into the dining room.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, but _they_ won't know you have it," he snorted, continuing to check each entry point. "Not at first, anyway."

After checking all three bedrooms, both bathrooms, and the kitchen, I eyed the backyard, stepping out onto the back porch after flipping the switch to turn the yard's light on. The sun wasn't out yet, but with the light on, I could see that it was a wide open space with a small shed in the farthest back corner. There was no fence, no enclosure, really, but the yard was edged with trees and shrubs. I didn't like the fact that there wasn't a fence, but at least there was enough space between the trees and the house that I could see someone coming.

Pulling out my gun, I ran the perimeter of the yard, surveying the small shed. It was locked up with a damn thick padlock, I noted, and then I turned to stare at the house from my position. I shook my head once, thinking if I was coming in, it would be from that point _right there_.

Securing my gun into its holster, I made my way back across the yard and into the house, my eyebrows raising up at the sight in the kitchen.

Jasper spun to face me, saying, "The sweep was clean, and the house is fully stocked."

"All windows and doors are secure," Ben advised, smiling at Jasper rummaging through the cabinets. "Yeah, the neighbor stocked the house for you. Shelly Cope told her someone would be staying, and she asked that the house have everything you'd need."

I nodded. "Thanks, Ben."

He shook his head, stopping me before I could make my way back to the garage. "No, Ed. Thank _you_. This is... Well, I don't know what would've happened to those girls if we'd gone about things a different way."

"Don't thank me until they're on the stand, yeah?" I stated, patting his shoulder. "We've got a long road ahead of us."

I cracked the door open, and I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my features at the sight of poor Mary. She looked desperate, dancing from one foot to the other. Marie, on the other hand, looked dead on her feet, like it was taking all she had just to lean against the car.

"All clear," I stated.

"Oh, thank _God_! Move!" Mary gushed, shoving me out of the way and darting down the hall.

Angela chuckled, stepping past me into the house. "Two cups of coffee and an orange juice. You should've known that was coming."

I smiled, but it fell as I watched Marie fighting with her bag. "Don't sweat your things. I'll get them. Head on in."

She muttered a soft thank you and nodded at me as she stumbled into the house. I snatched up my bags and the girls' stuff, lugging it all into the house.

When I walked in, Angela met me in the hallway. "The girls are going to take the master bedroom."

"Together?" I asked her. "They don't have..."

"We're used to it," Marie interrupted from the other end of the hall with a large, sleepy yawn. She waved a hand. "You guys...just..."

Nodding, I followed her into the master bedroom without argument, setting their bags on the floor. It didn't matter to me whether they shared a room. Marie sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at me.

"One of us will be in the living room at all times, okay?" I asked her, and she nodded, tucking her dark hair behind her ears. "And see this?" I walked to the window, flipped the lock, and cracked it. The beep from before echoed from down the hall. "If you hear that, you hide. Stay down, stay low, stay quiet. Those are only on the windows. If you hear that, then someone's trying to get in."

She nodded, still gazing bleary-eyed up at me. "Okay," she whispered, and for the first time, I noticed just how beautiful those dark eyes really were. They weren't just brown; they had flecks of gold toward the center, and they revealed everything she was feeling all at once – fear, anger, guilt, and weariness.

It was that last thing that made me move. Once I'd locked the window back, I left her to her room, meeting Jasper in the hallway.

"What the hell? You couldn't grab my shit, too?" he asked with a laugh, lifting his duffel for emphasis.

"Do I look like your fucking mother, Jazz?" I retorted, rolling my eyes at his laugh.

"Nah, you're _prettier_," he snorted, trying to pinch my cheek, but I smacked his hand away. "Mother Whitlock...not so much..."

I shook my head, but for a quick second, I thought I heard a giggle as I walked into the other room across from the master suite. I tossed my bag onto the bed and then went back out into the kitchen where Ben and Angela were waiting. I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, downing most of it.

The house was quiet, comfortable, almost like my sister's. It was clean, with natural wood furniture and calm, easy colors. There was nothing too loud or bright, which I hoped would keep the girls calm while we were there.

"We're gonna get out of your hair, Edward," Angela said, walking to me. She grinned, ruffling my hair. "It's good to see you. You don't know what it means that you're here."

I met her gaze as I leaned against the island counter. "You'd do this for me," I stated without pause, shrugging a shoulder.

"That's true," Ben agreed, reaching out to shake my hand. "But it seems you're coming to us more than we can return the favor."

I blew off that last sentence, saying, "If those two can put away Daniel's killer, then I'll make sure they get there. Volturi may not have been directly involved, but he damn well paid the asshole that pulled the fucking trigger."

"I know," Angela said with a touch of emotion to her voice. She hugged me tightly, then kissed my cheek, only to cup my face in both hands. "They're brave girls, Edward. Don't scare the shit out of them."

Grinning, I shook my head. "I'll do my best. And if Wonderboy over here doesn't behave, let me know... I'll rescue you from his scrawny ass."

She smacked my arm. "Edward Cullen. I don't need rescuing. Those girls do. In fact, I'm going to say goodbye."

Angela hugged me again before she wandered down the hall, but I turned to Ben.

"Watch your six when you leave, though I can't imagine you'll have any trouble," I told him.

He nodded. "Don't contact me unless its an emergency. I never know who's listening."

"That reminds me," I started, finishing off the bottle of water. "Watch that asshole in your office."

"No shit, right?" He chuckled. "Little weasel. I don't know if he's my leak, but fuck, I hate that kid. He only got the detective position because his father is a judge."

Laughing, I glanced up when Angela and Jasper came back in.

"Those girls are out for the night. We'll leave you to it," she said, taking Ben's hand.

We walked the couple to the garage, getting another round of hugs.

"I should hear from Al soon. The DOJ will want to meet with those girls once their paperwork is approved," I told Ben. "After that, it'll stay damned quiet up until the trial. They'll let us know about ten days before the girls are needed to come forward."

Ben nodded, gazing up at me with a wry smile, but his eyes were dark. "Well, you _hope_ it stays quiet."

"True." I sighed, rubbing my face; I needed a cigarette. "If something happens, I'll take us off-grid if I have to."

"Do what you can," Angela said. "We trust you. That's why you're here."

They got in their car and pulled out. Jasper and I walked back in the house, but I aimed straight for the back deck, pulling out a cigarette. I sat down in one of the chairs and put my feet up on the railing, letting my head fall back and the smoke relax me.

"Fuck, I need a drink," I muttered, but Jasper merely chuckled, taking the chair next to me.

"Uncle Al would kick your ass," Jasper stated, nudging me. He was quiet for a moment but sat forward with his elbows on his knees. "So, what do you think?"

"I think this yard is our weakest point of entry. No fence, but at least there isn't a lot of cover."

He snorted. "Edward, you're not blind...or fucking stupid. What do you _think_? Of them?"

I turned my head to look at him, taking another long drag on my cigarette. I knew him well enough to know that he liked one of them – most likely the little one. Mary.

"Apparently, _you_ have an opinion," I taunted, not giving him shit for an answer.

He grinned, staring down at his hands. "I do. And I think I'm in big trouble. They're hot, Ed."

Chuckling low, I nodded. "That they are," I agreed. "And scared and overwhelmed and...extremely important." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Keep that in mind. You might want to remind your dick about it, too."

He let out a long sigh. "Yeah. But you're not blind, right?"

"No. Not at all." I huffed a laugh, taking another drag.

I wasn't blind, but I wasn't stupid, either. I couldn't let my dick control this situation. We were responsible for the lives of the two girls now sleeping in the bedroom. My head had to prevail – meaning the one on my shoulders. I could see how Mary had looked at Jasper, with darkening eyes and a flirty smile. She seemed to be the lighter spirit of the two. Marie, on the other hand, seemed to have secured herself behind some pretty high walls, which was understandable. She was beautiful, definitely, and those eyes of hers could most likely bring a man to his knees. And I could well imagine they had in the past. The fact that I was on duty didn't detract from noticing her tight little body that was hidden beneath comfortable T-shirts – something I couldn't fault her for, considering their circumstances. There was also a quiet intelligence to her, a hidden sense of humor, and I'd be willing to bet some spark there if it weren't being bogged down at the moment.

"Marie's healing some pretty ugly wounds," I stated out loud, stubbing my cigarette out on the bottom of my shoe. "It was _her_ boss, _her_ cell phone they were going to get, and _her_ idea to call that murder in. They could've run, but they didn't. Now, because of all that, she's uprooted herself and her sister and put them in harm's way. That's a lot of shit to carry around. I don't know if Mary blames her, but I could well-imagine she's blaming herself."

Jasper's nose wrinkled, but he nodded. "Yeah, that's the part that sucks. They'll never be...who they are again." He looked over at me. "You like her. Marie, I mean."

"I understand her. There's a difference," I hedged, shrugging a shoulder, because if I was being completely honest, Marie was extraordinarily attractive. "Have you watched the two of them?" I asked, and he shook his head no. "Watch them. I don't know if it's a twin thing or just their personalities, but Marie is the caregiver, the protector, and Mary is the taker, free spirit."

"Oh, yeah... I have noticed that." He nodded and then smirked up at me. "Twin thing," he chortled, shaking his head. "Reminds me of that asshole at One PP. I can't believe you went there with him."

Laughing, I stood up. "Fucker. He'd been watching Ben from the second we stepped off the elevator. Idiot couldn't handle one woman, much less two at the same time. And I'm not sure it's women he likes," I snarked, rolling my eyes. "He seemed to freak the fuck out just a _little_ too quickly when Ben mentioned that prostitute bust."

"No shit."

I kicked the leg of his chair. "I'm gonna grab a shower, and then I'll take the living room for now. You can get some sleep."

~oOo~

The house was quiet, the sun having risen to a pretty bright day, but everyone slept on. I honestly didn't expect anyone to be up for several more hours. I flipped through the channels on the television, thanking whoever that the homeowners had cable. I kept the volume low, finally settling on a reality show about restoring motorcycles.

I bent my arms behind my head, my bare feet hanging off the end of the loveseat. Focusing on the TV and crossing my denim-covered legs over one another, I let my ears listen for sounds inside the house and out. Aside from a few cars passing by, I heard nothing until the soft padding of feet echoed down the hallway. It had to be one of the girls; Jasper stepped heavier than that. I looked up when the light in the fridge came on, and I saw Marie grab a bottle of water.

I sat up, swinging my legs down to the floor when she stepped lightly into the living room. I wanted to chuckle at her disheveled appearance because she looked grumpy as all hell.

"Can't sleep?" I asked.

One eye twitched as she glared at me. "No...Mary kicks in her sleep. It's like sleeping next to a ninja."

Grinning, I nodded. "You can take my room."

"No, I'm okay. She'll settle down in a few," she sighed, taking the chair in the corner of the room and pulling her knees up to her chin. "Besides, when you're ready for sleep, I can't imagine you spooning with Jasper."

I snorted. "Nah, he snores like a lumberjack."

She finally cracked a smile, and it changed her whole face completely. It took me by surprise for a moment. I tried my damnedest not to notice that the sleep shorts she was wearing showed off every inch of her amazingly toned legs. Her eyes left my face and locked onto my right arm. I waited for the questions that usually came when someone saw my tattoos, but they never came. Instead, she gazed up at the TV.

"Bikes?" she asked.

"You can change it," I said, offering her the remote.

"No, it's cool. You like motorcycles?"

"I do." I nodded, kicking back to lay on the couch again. "I have one," I told her, shocking myself with that bit of information. When I looked over at her, she was staring at me, her expression not giving anything away. "My dad and I bought an old rundown Harley when I was a senior in high school. We rebuilt her. Took us most of the summer before college. He still likes to work on her with me."

She smiled again and nodded, only this time, the smile left even quicker than before. Marie waited until the show was over before extricating herself from that chair.

"If the ninja's still kickin', take my room," I told her.

She laughed, stopping in front of the table. "Thanks. Sometimes, I just kick back."

"Good for you." I glanced up at her face to see that her eyes were locked onto the coffee table where I'd dumped everything from my pockets before my shower. My shield, two cell phones, and two guns were right there within hand's reach. However, one of the guns wasn't mine. Sitting up, I picked up her nine millimeter and turned it over in my hands. "Ben salvaged this from evidence," I murmured.

"It was my dad's," she whispered, her brow furrowing. "I thought for sure Ben would turn it in."

"He said you shot the intruder at your apartment. Did he tell you what happened to the perp?" When she shook her head no, I sighed, gauging her expression. "They found him. Matched his fingerprints to a body dumped in the East River."

She gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

I stood up and stepped around the table with the gun still in my hands. "You didn't kill him. You wounded him – in the arm and shoulder. Someone else killed him." I tapped the middle of my forehead. I eyed her for a moment. "If I give this back, can you handle it?"

She swallowed thickly, nodding a little. "Yeah, my dad...he was a cop. He taught us how to handle guns. _That_ gun."

I'd figured as much, but I didn't get to say anything yet because one of the phones on the table went off, making poor Marie just about jump clean out of her own skin.

"Easy," I soothed, picking up the phone to see a message from Uncle Al. "Fuck me," I groaned, shaking my head.

"What?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

I sniffed, my brow furrowing. "Caius Volturi made bail. They took his passport, but he's out on the street."

Tears welled up in those deep brown eyes, but she took the news with a single nod, like she'd expected as much. "What happens now?"

"Nothing changes. We stay here as long as its safe."

"And when it isn't?"

"We move. And we move fast," I told her firmly.

She bit her lip, eyed her father's gun once more, and started for the hall. "Okay," she simply said.

"Marie," I called her, and she turned to face me. I held out the gun to her. "Take it. If you're sure of yourself with it, then keep it."

A small spark lit up her eyes briefly, and she took the gun from me. "Thanks, Edward."

"Mmhmm," I hummed, but before she turned, I grabbed her shirt sleeve. "Next time, Marie..." I started, making sure she was listening. "Next time, you shoot to kill. Got me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She nodded fervently. "If I'd been able to see him, I would have," she countered, smirking a little.

For a split second, I saw the real Marie. Not the scared and tired girl, not the girl that carried too much guilt, but the woman that probably took life by the horns and shoved it around like she wanted it. It was sexy – and a little unnerving that I found it that damn sexy – but it was the facts all the same. She raised her own eyebrow up at me after checking the weapon and securing the safety.

I chuckled. "Thatta girl."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: I just have to thank you guys for how you've grabbed on to this fic. I've never anything like it. Your excitement makes Jenny and me just as excited to get this out to you. I want to remind you that we post pics and teasers on FB and Twitter every Wednesday. You can find the links on our profile. Also, Jenny has done an amazing job setting up a page for all the pics per chapter, including this one, and that link is there, too.**

**As always, we'll see you next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N #1: Once again, you guys blew us away with your response to the last chapter. We're so glad you're loving Marshalward & the rest of our group so far!**

**To answer a couple of questions: DOJ stands for Department of Justice, and One PP is One Police Plaza, the main building for the police department in NYC. (And as a reminder, WitSec stands for Witness Security, which is the new name for the Witness Protection Program.) No, no one saw them at McDonald's. Everyone was being extra vigilant on the drive from the motel, so they knew they weren't followed, and they parked in the back in the dark corner, with Angela & Edward keeping watch. So no worries...yet. ;)**

**Now, enjoy chapter 5 & see Deb at the bottom! :) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 5**

**Marie POV**

Mary stumbling out of bed woke me, and I startled, sitting up as I tried to calm my racing heart. I quickly determined there was no threat and croaked a greeting back when my sister uttered something that vaguely sounded like, "Good morning," when she stumbled into the master bathroom.

Knowing she would take a while in the shower, I grabbed a change of clothes and my bathroom stuff and made my way to the second bathroom. My own shower was quick. I had twice as much hair as my sister, but she liked to primp and make herself up in the mirror, and unless we were going out, I didn't. Once I was dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a fresh, minty green T-shirt, I ran a comb through my hair and pulled it up into a low ponytail.

I made my way down the hall to find something to drink and maybe eat. My stomach was gnawing on itself. It had been too long since I'd had anything substantial to eat – the sausage biscuit that I'd picked apart at McDonald's seemed like forever ago.

Jasper was sitting at the table, book of crossword puzzles in front of him and cup of steaming coffee in hand. "Morning, Sleepy Beauty," he teased, a grin flashing across his face before he buried it behind a drink of coffee.

"Morning."

He held up his cup. "There's a fresh pot if you want some."

Grimacing, I shook my head. "Not really a coffee drinker most of the time. I've kind of had my fill the last couple of days. But thanks." I chose to open the fridge, and on the bottom shelf were bottles of water, Coke, and orange juice. I grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the counter as I opened it and took a long drink. "Where's, uh... Where's Edward?" I asked. I'd expected him to be around since the other bedroom doors were open, so I knew he wasn't sleeping.

"He's out running, checking out the neighborhood," Jasper answered, picking up his pencil again.

"Ah." I didn't want to sound too interested, so I declined to ask if that was something he did often. Instead, I asked, "What time is it?"

Jasper smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Eight a.m." When I was quiet, trying to figure out how it was that early, he clarified, "Tuesday morning."

Startled, I couldn't help but gape at him. "What?"

He nodded. "You slept for just over twenty-four hours."

"It can't be Tuesday. I've never slept that long..." I didn't believe him, certain he was teasing me or was just plain wrong.

Jasper opened his mouth, but I waved him off and moved down the hall to our room.

Once inside, I grabbed the bag of our things and started riffling through it, trying to find my cell phone. I knew I'd had it, but I couldn't think when I'd seen it last. By the time I got to the bottom of the bag, I was beginning to worry. What if I'd accidentally left it at the not-so-friendly motel on Sunday night?

Turning, I banged on the bathroom door. "Mare, do you see my phone in there?" Maybe I'd left it in there when I'd used the toilet before falling asleep after we'd gotten here.

"No, I don't see it," she called loudly over the water running in the sink. "Try the bag."

"I did! You didn't move it?"

She turned off the water and opened the door, toothbrush in hand. "No... It should be with mine, and mine's in there."

Looking back at the mess on the bed that I'd made when I was throwing things out of the bag, I said, "I didn't see yours, either."

I raced back to the bed, certain I'd just missed them folded in the clothes. Shirts, jeans, socks, and unmentionables flew across the room as I searched. When I didn't find them, I got down on the floor and began searching under the bed, feeling tears stinging my eyes before blazing trails down my cheeks.

"Where is it?" I yelled. "Dammit, where the fuck is my phone?"

Standing, I started pulling the sheet and comforter off the bed, tossing them to the floor. When strong arms wrapped around me, holding my arms close to my body, I began struggling.

"Let me go!" I cried, trying to fight my way free.

"Calm down, Marie," Jasper said in as soothing a voice as possible.

I continued to struggle, and his voice got louder as he spoke again.

"Come on, darlin'. You gotta calm down. Edward'll have my ass if he comes back to find you like this."

I finally broke free of his hold and whirled around, swiping at my eyes. "Where's my phone? I can't find it. I need it!"

Jasper frowned and took a slow step toward me. His hand was out, palm up, like he was trying to tell me he was no threat. "We – Edward and I – have it. We realized Ben and Angela hadn't taken out the battery. To be on the safe side, just to make sure no one can track you through those, we grabbed them while you were sleeping and have them in the kitchen. You can't use them anymore. It's too risky."

I took a sobbing breath and looked over at Mary, standing in the doorway of the bathroom, her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

"I... I need it back," I told him, hurrying to add, "I won't make any calls, I swear. All my favorite pictures of my mom and dad, my grandmother, are on there. Please..."

Pain flashed in Jasper's eyes, and he didn't even need to say anything for me to know.

"I'm..." My voice broke on a sob. "I'm not going to get to keep those, am I?"

He shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid not, darlin'." He lowered his hand and took another step toward me. "I—"

"Don't," I gasped, backing slowly to the door. "Just...don't."

With another sob, I turned and ran.

~oOo~

Over the next...however long it was, both Mary and Jasper tried to talk to me. I simply shrugged them off, letting them know with a glance that I didn't want to talk. Grief and guilt were powerful emotions, and for the moment, they were simply overwhelming me. Pictures and memories were all Mary and I had left of our parents and grandmother. Without the pictures, I was worried the memories would quickly fade.

I got a reminder of our family's happiest moments every time I looked at my phone. Some of the photos were old enough that they were pictures I'd taken with my phone of actual photos my grandmother had saved. In one, we were twelve years old, and my mom had insisted on having a picnic in the park. So we had all dressed in shorts and T-shirts and traipsed down to the park with a huge cooler in place of a picnic basket, blanket, and bread for the ducks that were always waddling around and swimming in the pond. We had spent almost three hours there, eating all the delicious food my mom had prepared – including fried chicken, potato salad, and the yummiest brownies for dessert – and feeding the ducks. My dad had brought a baseball and three gloves, so while my mom and grandmother had relaxed after eating, he, Mary, and I had spent a few minutes playing catch. It was a rare treat, since he had been working so hard to become the next police chief. An older couple had been walking through the park and saw us as we were trying to figure out how best to take a picture of all us together, and they'd offered to take it for us so everyone could be in the photo. There were smiles on all our faces, our cheeks were pink from the sun, and we looked happier than I could ever remember feeling before.

And now, I wouldn't have that reminder – or any others, either. And when I'd realized that, it had torn apart my insides and made my guilt come crashing down once again. I was not only losing those photos and mementos for myself, but for my sister, as well. I was depriving her of having a normal life – _the life she wanted to live_ – and tearing her away from everything familiar. It had been _my_ boss, _my_ job, _my_ phone, _my_ forgetfulness that had put us in this position, and how she could ever forgive me – how I could ever forgive _myself_ – I wasn't sure.

I was so caught up in how I was feeling that it barely registered when Edward came walking through the front door, locking it behind him. I saw him look at me sideways for a moment, and then he took a few steps toward me. I shook my head, not even turning to look at him, before curling further in on myself.

Edward cursed quietly and then walked through the living room. I heard him speaking in low tones to Jasper, and then there was a loud bang, like something had hit the wall. It made me flinch, but I stayed where I was, staring at the smooth surface of the wall opposite me.

A few minutes later, Edward came back into the living room and took a seat across from me on the coffee table, forcing me to either look at him or turn my head away. When my eyes met his, I was surprised at the storm of emotions swirling through them. I could clearly see guilt and sadness, but I also saw a strength and determination.

"I won't lie to you and tell you this will be easy, Marie. It's not. It's the hardest thing you'll ever have to do. You'll have to give up your identity, your job...and yes, your pictures. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to change that."

I looked down to my lap, where my fingers were twisting themselves into what felt like knots. "I don't know if I can do this," I admitted aloud for the first time.

"Marie..." Edward's voice was pained.

"I don't know if I'm strong enough."

Edward slapped his hands down on the coffee table and stood with a huff. When he spoke again, his growling tone made me flinch like I'd been slapped. "What's the alternative, then? Huh? Tell me, Marie. Let Caius Volturi go free? You want that on your conscience? Can you live with letting Eleazar Denali's killer get away with it? The man behind the death of Angela and Ben's little boy?"

"Don't throw that at me!" I hissed, my stomach churning. "I see Eleazar in my head every time I close my eyes. The thud of his body as it hits the floor echoes in my nightmares. And the cold eyes of Caius Volturi as he orders the other man, Felix, to get rid of the gun will haunt me to my dying day. So don't you _dare_ throw that little boy's murder on top of all that. Don't. You. Dare!" Fisting my hands at my sides to prevent myself from striking out at him, I growled, "Leave me alone, Mr. Cullen. Just...leave me alone."

I sank down to the couch, barely hearing Edward as he stalked away.

~oOo~

The sun was bright overhead when I finally made my way to the others. I'd spent all morning curled up on the couch, questioning myself. Not over whether or not I would testify – that had never been an issue – but over whether or not I was strong enough to do this and survive it. I still didn't know, but did know I wouldn't go down without a fight, whether it be with Caius Volturi or myself, whether my name was Isabella Marie Brandon or something completely different.

Conversation paused for a minute as I walked into the bright kitchen. Jasper was at the counter working on lunch, while Edward and Mary were at the kitchen table, peering at a laptop.

"Ree," Mary murmured, moving away from the table to wrap me in a hug. "You okay?" she whispered, her breath puffing out against my cheek.

I nodded, hugging her tight for a moment before pulling back. "Better, yeah. I'm sorry if I scared you."

She simply shook her head and took my hand, leading me to the table and pushing me down in the chair she'd been in before.

Looking at Jasper, I apologized for freaking out on him. "I'm sorry for..." I waved my hand back toward the bedroom.

"No worries, darlin'." He smiled. "If you didn't freak out now and then, I'd be worried. Same goes for Asshat over there." He motioned toward Edward with a nod of his head. "Don't let him browbeat you. You'll figure it out on your own without him breathing down your neck about anything."

"Fucker," Edward muttered, shooting a glare at Jasper before turning back to me. "I am sorry for yelling, though. You didn't deserve it. Caius Volturi is one of my hot buttons, and—"

I held up my hand to stop him and said, "Please, don't apologize. We both said some things we probably shouldn't have. It's water under the bridge now as far as I'm concerned. Just so you know, there's no way I wouldn't testify. I know how important Mary and I are to putting him away – and make no mistake, I _do_ want him to pay for what he did to not only Eleazar, but to Daniel and all the other people he's had a hand in turning into victims. I just..."

That's when I noticed what was on the laptop screen.

"My pictures!" I gasped, holding my hand to my mouth.

One corner of Edward's mouth tipped up and he nodded. "You understand you can't keep them forever, right? I wish I could give you that. I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell you that you can't take them with you. Unfortunately, things like pictures absolutely have to be left behind when you go. That doesn't mean you can't have them for now, though, and I'm sorry that wasn't clear earlier. You can look at them all you want on this laptop – it's secure as long as you don't do anything to compromise our whereabouts – until the end of the trial, okay? I know it isn't perfect, and it won't fix things long-term, but for now..."

I nodded fervently, reaching out to run a finger over my parents and grandmother. The picture on the screen was the one from the main screen of my phone...the one of all of us on the picnic. Swallowing past the sudden lump in my throat, I croaked out, "Thanks."

"Of course."

We were all quiet for a bit, and then Jasper lightened the moment by asking, "Who likes pickles in their chicken salad?"

Three hands raised, making him chuckle. "All right, pickles it is. Two minutes till lunch, then, ladies. Edward, man, make yourself useful and come grab the rest of the fixin's."

Mary and I cleared off the table as Edward brought plates, bread, lettuce, tomato slices, and bag of chips and baby carrots, setting it all down on the tables as Jasper brought over silverware and a bowl of what appeared to be chicken salad. We all settled in around the table to eat, and once I had the first bite, I realized how famished I was. Before I knew it, I'd eaten a huge sandwich and a handful of both chips and carrots.

"That was good," I told Jasper, reaching for another carrot.

He smiled. "Thanks."

"You do more than chicken salad?" Mary asked, smiling over at him. "'Cause Ree and I can't cook at all, unfortunately."

"Hey, that's not true," I argued, sticking my tongue out playfully. "I do a mean grilled cheese."

She giggled. "Okay, I'll give you that one."

"Yeah," Edward answered, grinning. "Tex over there can make pretty much anything, although he doesn't do dessert."

Jasper shrugged. "Nothing fancy, but I can throw together some good stuff."

I raised an eyebrow. "What about you, Edward?"

"Not much," he admitted. "I make a mean breakfast and I'm a whiz on the grill, but other than that, I'm kind of limited to spaghetti, like my mom taught me."

Snorting, I said, "Well, more than I can do. Last time I tried to grill, I nearly caught my hair on fire, and anytime I make more than cereal for breakfast, either the eggs come out tough and rubbery, the pancakes are hockey pucks, or the bacon is burned to a crisp. It's not pretty." Then I paused, frowning. "Well, Marie Brandon was a bad cook. Maybe whoever I become will have to learn."

"Oh!" Mary gasped. "Guess what, Ree?" At my questioning look, she grinned. "I think we figured out what names we can use."

I deadpanned, "Candy? Lola?"

My sister snorted into a laugh, burying her face in her hands for a minute. "Lord, Ree... We aren't becoming strippers!"

Giggling at her lighthearted happiness, I shrugged. "Better than anything else I'd come up with," I finally said.

"Unless you object..." She paused for dramatic effect. "What do you think of Isabella and Alice?"

I mulled it over in my head for a moment. Isabella Marie and Mary Alice Brandon were our given names, and I'd been going by Marie for so long that anything else, even Isabella, felt awkward. But...it was better than Candy or Lola...or Ashley or Amanda. "What about... I mean... Can we _do_ that? They're our real names. Won't that go against protocol?"

Mary smiled, looking over at Edward and Jasper. "It was _their_ idea. I'm guessing not."

"We actually encourage using familiar initials or middle names. It helps people remember their new names," Edward explained. "Since you've been going by your middle name since you were young, going by your first name would be the same thing."

"Isabella and—No, Bella and Alice," I said, feeling a real, true smile on my face for the first time in days. "I like it. What about, uh, last name? Any ideas?"

Edward shook his head. "The guy from the DOJ will help us figure that out, as well as help fill out your new background and history."

Nodding my understanding, I pushed away from the table. "Okay, well, sounds good. Thanks for the suggestion. Knowing that we can at least keep part of the names our parents gave us helps."

_Not a lot, but still..._

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

My feet pounded against the asphalt as I ran, but my eyes raked over every car, every house, every dog-walking human being. All stayed the same. It had been exactly the same since I'd started running every morning two weeks ago. It was the cars I paid the most attention to – sedans, SUVs, expensive coupes, and the occasional work vehicle. Winding my way through the streets, I looked for changes. So far, there were none – no suspicious vans, no men sitting in cars, no additions to the norm at all.

It would seem that we hadn't been found. Yet.

I expected it. Always. Since Caius Volturi had made bail, I expected anything and everything to come at us. And come at us hard. It made my determination to keep watching that much more tenacious. His power knew no limits. And I wasn't quite sure if he had eyes on Long Island. However, I wasn't taking chances.

Slowing to a cool-down walk, I made my way past the last couple of houses. Picking up the bottom of my T-shirt, I wiped away the sweat running down my face. At home, I wouldn't have worn one, but here, my ink would make me stand out, something that I couldn't have.

I glanced up at Mrs. Meyers as she stepped onto her porch to grab the morning paper. She raised a hand at me, and I returned the gesture. She'd pretty much forgiven us for waking her up at the ass-crack of dawn for the key. Though, she wasn't exactly knocking on the door wanting to hang out. I had a feeling she kind of knew to leave us alone. Perhaps Ben and Angela's friend, Mrs. Cope, was shrewder than any of us gave her credit.

Leaping up onto the porch of the house, I grabbed the newspaper and groaned when I reached for the doorknob, the sounds of the TV hitting me like a ton of bricks. It was fucking Wednesday.

_And slope down into the hover position...hold it for ten deep breaths... One, two, three, four, five..._

Yoga. Fuck my life, the girls were doing yoga. Again. They'd started doing it the day after Marie's...er, Bella's meltdown. Every other day, we were forced to listen to and watch some overly happy, extremely relaxed chick coach the girls through thirty minutes of the most obscene positions I'd ever seen. The first time we'd witnessed it, Jasper had destroyed a can of Coke in his bare hand, spilling that shit everywhere, and I'd practically burned the hell out of my dick dropping a spoonful of hot oatmeal onto my lap.

Bracing myself, I opened the door. It was impossible not to look to the living room floor once inside the house. Two very fit girls, two sets of tight clothes, and two pairs of legs able to bend into positions that seemed inconceivable were crouched on the floor. I'd known exotic dancers that couldn't even do that shit.

I let out a breath, stalking quickly through the room and into the kitchen. Slamming the paper down onto the counter, I smirked when Jasper jumped. Fucker was failing at his stealthy way of watching them. Not one word on his crossword puzzle was for real, I'd have been willing to bet.

Grabbing a bottle of water, I shut the refrigerator door and downed most of it. My eyes again fell to the living room, my head shaking at the back bends that now arched up off the floor. As much as I tried to fight it, my eyes settled onto Bella's form: strong arms; taut, muscular legs; dark ponytail dragging the floor; and everything else jutting up into the air. I licked my lips at the sight of the bare skin of her stomach just before the edge of her workout shorts.

The look on her face was pure concentration, and as much as it drove me crazy, I had to say that yoga was helping her. It kept her calm and gave her focus, though I'd seen small moments when darkness crossed those deep brown eyes. She was still beating herself up, but nothing like the day I'd come back from my first run to find her in an uncontrollable state.

I'd never been so pissed. Already amped up from my run, I'd not only walked in to see her wrapped around herself on the sofa, her eyes completely vacant of all life, but her sister was just as upset in the hallway with Jasper. When I'd found out what had happened, my temper had slipped even more, causing me to pick up the closest thing – a book of something or other – and throw it against the wall. And that only exacerbated the problem because I saw Bella's fears and anger getting the best of her. I'd been an asshole to yell at her, but fuck, people were putting their lives on the line to keep her and her sister safe, making sure that Volturi could go down for all the shit he'd done.

I'd had no choice but to take their phones, and I'd had every intention of telling them. It was truly for their safety. However, it wasn't about the loss of communication for them; it was the loss of their pictures, their memories. I'd known about the loss of their parents and grandmother. I wasn't stupid. It killed me to think of all the shit they were giving up for this. I wished nothing more than for them to be able to keep everything, but they couldn't. It was a hefty price to pay for something that truly wasn't their fucking fault.

While Bella had stayed wrapped up on the couch, her sister had said to leave her alone. I'd pulled the storage card from one of the phones, slapping it into the laptop that Uncle Al had sent with me. I'd explained to Alice why they couldn't keep the pictures, why everything had to stay behind, but I'd offered the only thing they could keep: their real names.

The suggestion had put just a little bit of life back into their eyes. They'd joked about stripper names, but the mere idea that they could keep _something_ their parents had given them had relaxed them a little. If anyone understood that, it was me. The only thing I had left of my birth father was his name. So sitting at that table eating lunch, Mary and Marie Brandon became Alice and Bella, with last name to be determined later by the Department of Justice. In order to get used to it, they wanted to start immediately. So we had.

_And you'll push up into the Downward Facing Dog position, holding it for the count of ten..._

"One...two...three..." Jasper and I counted along with Happy Chick on TV under our breaths, enough though the count of ten for two tight, sweet asses in the air wasn't long enough.

_...eight, nine, and...ten..._

"Mm, thank you," Jasper muttered, drawling out the last word, which caused me snort into a laugh. His eyes locked with mine. "Gotta love that Downward Facing Dog..."

Grinning, I tossed my bottle into the trash. Personally, I was a huge fan of the lunge, but I wasn't saying that shit out loud. Never mind that the handstand shit could cause a man's imagination to runaway with him.

"It's your turn for breakfast," he stated, jerking a chin toward the stove.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I know. I need a shower first, and then I'll get started."

Over the two weeks we'd been holed up in this house, routine had become our saving grace. Jasper was starting to teach the girls how to cook a few things. I'd run in the mornings, Jasper, in the evenings. We allotted cooking times, laundry duty, and time for ourselves. Occasionally, we'd all watch TV in the living room together, but it was rare. There was only so much Kardashian drama a man could take, though we all loved the TV reality show _Jail_. And of course, the girls needed their own form of exercise and a way to keep themselves from going bat-shit crazy stuck in that house, so the yoga DVDs under the TV had been their salvation from boredom and Jasper's and my hell on Earth.

My eyes glanced into the living room one more time as legs were pulled up to their chests. I definitely needed a shower. A cold one. And maybe some push-ups, too. Fucking yoga would be the death of me.

Stripping off my shirt as I made my way down the hall, I tossed it into my dirty laundry pile. I could still hear the DVD playing in the other room, and so could my dick, because the word "lunge" met my ears. Deciding that exercise was the only way to get that shit under control, I punished myself with so many inclined push-ups that I lost count – fists pressed into the carpet, feet up on the nightstand, and my mind only on breathing.

Once my libido had been punished down into submission for thinking shit I could do nothing about, I grabbed a quick shower. The girls were done with Happy Yoga Chick, cleaned up, and in the kitchen when I came back in. Bella was at the counter, cutting up fruit, while Alice was at the table next to Jasper, the laptop open in front of her.

I'd told the girls they could look at their pictures all they wanted up until the end of the trial, and they'd not only been grateful but had done so quite often.

Bella met my gaze, but then quickly looked back down at the apple in her hands. "I thought I'd help you."

"Hungry?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes," she said, giggling a little as she dropped a handful of chopped-up apple into the bowl that already had grapes and strawberries in it.

"I'm starving," Jasper whined. "What the hell, Ed?"

"Shut your face before I shut it for you. You'll live, asshole," I snapped back, rolling my eyes at his shameless grin.

I started the bacon in the pan, and Bella finished up the fruit, asking what else she could help me with. We worked pretty well together in the kitchen. She buttered toast while I whisked the eggs. I tried not to noticed how good she smelled – like flowers or something fruity.

"Hey, M—Bella," Alice piped up with a grin. "Remember this?" she asked, spinning the laptop just enough so that we could all see a picture of what looked like a party.

"Oh, so, so drunk," Bella groaned, her brow furrowing as she stacked the toast on a plate. "That was just before college graduation."

Jasper and I chuckled at a rather inebriated Bella holding a bright red cup and surrounded by several people just as blitzed. She looked just about the same – dark hair, dark eyes, though her smile was wider, easier.

"Keep going," Bella sang to Alice, waving a hand.

"You have a picture of Mike?" Alice asked once she'd changed to the next photo.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No!" Bella practically growled. "I'm pretty sure I don't. They've all been deleted...or burned."

My eyebrows raised up when the last two words came out as a mumble, and I was fairly certain Alice hadn't heard her because she just spun the computer back around.

"Yes, you do!" she chortled.

The dark look that crossed Bella's face was scarier than I'd expected. She locked onto the screen, where a guy with brownish hair with way too much gel was smiling cheesily back at her.

"Delete it." It was an order, in all actuality, but Jasper's curiosity beat mine to the punch.

"Who is he? If looks could kill, darlin'..." He chuckled, looking between the girls and then to the picture on the computer.

"No one," Bella snapped, spinning around to grab plates out of the cabinet. She slammed them down onto the counter, only to tug open the drawer to get the silverware.

"He's Bella's ex-boyfriend from college," Alice chirped.

"Alice," Bella seethed, bracing her arms on the counter and glaring at her sister. "I said to fucking delete it."

"Damn," I snorted. "He must've been a real winner."

She glared up at me as I called that everything was ready. Grinning at her, I shrugged, thinking he had to have done something horrific to cause such hate from her. He was an idiot if he cheated and a fool for losing her. If he'd treated her badly, then I hoped that Karma was kicking his ass.

She and I were the first to sit down with our plates, and I nudged her with my elbow as she caught sight of Mike's picture again.

When she looked up at me, I whispered, "Technically, that's Marie Brandon's ex, not Bella's." Reaching over, I hit the delete button. When the computer asked if I was sure, I raised an eyebrow at her.

She smiled a little, biting down on her bottom lip as she nodded. It was a sexy-as-hell thing to watch.

"Yes, definitely sure."

I hit the Enter button. "Mike who?"

"No idea who you're talking about," she whispered, smiling before taking a bite of toast. "Now, if I could only erase him from here." She tapped her forehead, sighing wearily.

Alice huffed, frowning at her sister. "I told you everything he said was bullshit, Bella."

Bella nodded, but said nothing as she continued to eat.

Jasper grinned. "What's his last name?" he asked, picking up one of the throw-away phones. "He may just find himself in trouble..."

Bella muttered, "Nothing," at the same time Alice growled, "Newton." But I could see we were making her uncomfortable. Reaching out, I snatched the phone from Jasper's hand.

"Let it go," I stated firmly, because I hated the look she was currently sporting. She'd been somewhat happy in the kitchen, and now she wasn't. So not fucking cool.

Breakfast was quiet from that point on. Jasper eventually said he was gonna crash in his room for a bit. Bella wandered into the living room to watch TV as Alice did the clean up in the kitchen. Stepping out onto the back deck, I sat down in a chair, lighting up a cigarette.

Looking up when the deck door opened, I saw Bella leaning against the frame. She knew not to step foot outside. Behind her, the kitchen was empty.

"Thank you," she muttered, smiling sadly. "That was the first...um, silver lining I'd heard about this whole thing."

Sitting forward, I rested my elbows on my knees. "He fucked you over," I surmised, gazing up at her.

She laughed humorlessly and nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."

Having my own fucked-up college ex experience, I sighed. "You can delete the picture, but not the memory. That works both good and bad."

"Sounds like experience talking," she guessed.

Frowning, I didn't answer her. "Let's just say...I understand why some pictures have to be deleted...and burned."

She smirked. "Fair enough, Edward. But thank you again."

"No sweat." I shrugged a shoulder. "However, if you change your mind, I'm sure Jasper would really enjoy some revenge on this Mike for you."

She giggled once. "Mike who?"

"There ya go." I chuckled, but it stopped abruptly when the phone rang on the kitchen table. I chucked my cigarette into the bucket that I'd procured for the butts, and Bella stepped back to let me inside. "This should be interesting..." I picked up the ringing phone and hit Accept. "Yeah," I grunted.

"You hanging in there, son?" Al's voice met my ear.

I smirked, knowing his voice anywhere, but decided to test his ass. "What did you get me for my eighteenth birthday?"

He laughed, low and deep. "A box of condoms and a bottle of whiskey."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Both of which I put to good use, Uncle Al. Thanks for that."

"Well, you were heading off to college soon. I figured you could use both," he chortled. "Smart ass. Now, are you hanging in there?"

"Yeah, we're good. What's got you callin' me?"

"The DOJ is ready to meet with your witnesses. Their new identities have been approved. You and Jasper have to secure the meeting. You need to tell me when and where," he explained.

"Not in public. I can't risk it, Al," I grumbled, and my eyes fell to Bella, who was trying not to look nervous but was failing miserably.

"Understandably," he conceded. "So tell me."

"Two days. Noon. There's a motel just outside the city," I told him, making Bella sit down. Her shifting from one foot to the other was making me anxious just watching her. "The Regal. And believe me, there's nothing regal about it. Tell your DOJ friend to bring their own can of roach spray." Al chuckled, and Bella smirked a little, but I went on. "But it has a garage and I can sneak the girls in that way. Jasper's already scoped out room thirteen."

"Good. Now hang up. I'll send you something," he stated. "Look at it, delete it, and then destroy your phone. Start using the other one I gave you."

"Sir," I said, and the call was ended.

The phone bleeped again, and I smiled at the picture he'd sent. He'd apparently had dinner with my family, because all of them were posed at my mother's dining room table. And then one of Rose alone, looking bigger than ever, but she looked healthy, happy. Uncle Al was showing me that he was watching out for my family.

"Who is she?" I heard softly next to my shoulder.

I snorted. "Rose," I told her. "My sister. She'll pop before I see her again."

"She's beautiful." Bella smiled, but it fell quickly. "I'm sorry you're missing it."

I laughed, starting to take the phone apart. "Don't be. You're saving me from fucking hellacious hormones."

Giggling, she reached out to stop me. "Can I see the other one?"

"Yeah, sure." I showed her the other picture. "My parents, Rose, and her husband."

"You don't want to keep it?" Her eyes flickered to the laptop. "I mean, this is affecting you, too. You and Jasper."

Again, I saw a bit of her true spirit come through. She was constantly watching out for her sister, but I could see right then that she kind of watched out for everyone in a selfless sort of way. What she was offering was something I couldn't take, though, despite how appreciative I was of the gesture.

"I can't, but thank you." I grimaced at her, shrugging a shoulder. "He was just showing me they're all okay."

With that said, I ripped out the sim card to destroy later and then snapped the old flip-phone apart, tossing the pieces onto the table.

Looking back at her, I let out a deep breath. "The paperwork has come through on your new identities," I told her. "We'll meet with a representative of the Department of Justice in a couple of days. They'll hand you everything for who you'll...become. It'll be a quick meeting, private. You can ask this person all the questions you want. Once it's over, we'll come back here. Okay?"

She swallowed nervously but nodded as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Wonder who I'll be..."

My brow furrowed at her musing, but I stood up. "You'll be you. Just...with a different name, Bella. That's all. Who you are won't change."

"Only without the ex-boyfriend," she snorted.

Picking up the pieces of the phone, I chuckled. "Who?"

She smiled softly, but it didn't quite meet her eyes. Gazing up at me, she sighed. "I'm... Umm, thank you. Again."

I had a feeling she had been about to say something different but changed her mind. "Stop thanking me, Bella. We're not out of the woods yet."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: I love Uncle Al. That is all. LOL I think we achieved what everyone was worried about...NAMES. They are now Bella and Alice. I know that was hard for some of you. ;) We also had some ups and downs in this chapter. That's to be expected. I do have to admit the upcoming chapter is one of my favorites, so next week will be a good one! :)**

**I want to thank my Firefighters for following me over to this story from my personal fics. My PERV PACK, though, will just have to hold your horses. Otherwise, you'll kill yourselves with the betting. LOL And as Ted can see...everyone in the safe house has to do laundry. ;)**

**Jenny and I want to thank you guys SO, SO MUCH! We love that you guys are enjoying the ride so far, and to answer one question... YES! We ABSOLUTELY read each and every review, but there's no way for us to keep up with replies. We hope that if you have questions, you can approach us on FB and Twitter. And we hope that the teasers on Wednesdays will tide you over through the week. Just in case they don't... We have a FIC REC for you...**

**_Luckless_ by NinaQ... s/8959415/1/Luckless … Summary: Everything about her was the same. Even after all these years, he'd recognized her, but it made no sense. There was no way she was the same woman. It couldn't be. He had watched her die. ExB. AU**

**It's a WIP (work in progress) and vamp, but it's a mystery that's Jenny and me scratching our heads. It's amazingly well-written and all in Edward's POV. :)**

**By the way, don't forget to check out Jenny's site or my blog for pictures we use for pic teases and inspiration. There's a couple of new ones for this chapter. ;)**

**We'll see you Wednesday for the teaser and then again on Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N #1: We passed well over 800 reviews after the last chapter. That is absolutely insane, people, and we absolutely love you for it. Thank you SO much for all the love!**

**To answer a couple of questions: No, we're only writing Bella/Edward POVs. There are strict rules for WitSec, and one is absolutely no ties to your past, including pictures. It's the hardest thing someone – especially those that are innocent, like Bella & Alice – ever has to go through. We can only hope to scratch the surface of the emotional toll it takes on people – and that's just from things we have been able to find online and our imaginations. There's not a lot out there for us to learn from, but that one rule, that's the one we're certain of.**

**Okay, enough from me. Read on to see how things in Southampton are going, then see Deb at the bottom. ;) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 6**

**Bella POV**

_Pull your legs up and hold it for a count of ten...nine...eight...seven...six..._

I listened to the perky, disgustingly fit woman on the TV count down as we held the pose that was supposed to work our core and strengthen our abs. I was sitting on my tailbone, and my hands were holding my legs up at a ninety-degree angle.

_Now straighten, and up. Straighten, and up._

The woman's voice chirped on as I tried to remain in time with her movements.

"Why the hell are we doing this again today?" I asked Mar—Alice through gritted teeth. It was Thursday, and we'd been doing yoga every other day for the last couple of weeks...but we'd done it yesterday, so today was an off day.

Alice groaned after the woman on the TV told us to relax. "Because—"

"Never mind. I know why," I interrupted with a sigh. We wouldn't have time tomorrow because of our meeting with the attorney from the DOJ and we'd both needed to do something today to take our minds off it. Jasper had quickly suggested yoga, saying that an extra-long session of it should do wonders.

Why we chose to do it first thing in the morning, I didn't know, but that had become routine. It wasn't like we needed to do it early to keep our schedules free for the rest of the day. Being stuck here in the house had gotten quite...monotonous – even for my sister, whose personality seemed stuck on bright and cheerful.

Over the noise from the television, I heard the sound of the only thing that made being cooped up days and weeks on end better: Edward's keys in the lock.

He had been running like he'd done every morning since shortly after we arrived in Southampton, and when he came through the door, I couldn't help but sneak a peek. He was wearing black athletic shorts, sneakers, and a light gray T-shirt, which was soaked through with sweat in several places. It clung to him like a second skin. His hair was a mess, damp from sweat but still standing on end, like he'd raked a hand through it multiple times. He looked...delicious, and I wanted to lap him up, sweat and all.

As if he heard my inner thoughts, he suddenly glanced up and met my eyes before I could avert my gaze.

"Morning, Bella. Alice," he said, and for a moment, it looked like his eyes were trained on my legs as I held the pose the yoga lady had shown us.

Before we could say our own good mornings, he was gone. I heard him mumble something to Jasper, who laughed and yelled something after him.

"I want breakfast when you finish in the shower, man. You lost, remember?"

I grinned, remembering the game of poker we'd played with the boys the night before. We'd figured out that they would bet on any and everything, given the opportunity...but never for money. Laundry, cooking, and other household duties were fair game. Edward had lost last night, meaning he was cooking breakfast for a week – which was okay by me. So far, I hadn't been disappointed.

After another pose, I was done, and I said so to Alice. "I'm out. I'm going to go take my shower and get dressed."

I left her to it and waved to Jasper as I passed him in the kitchen, where he was working on his crossword puzzle, same as he did almost every morning.

The room I was sharing with Alice was at the end of the hall, right across from Edward's. When I got to my doorway, I heard a noise and turned to see what it was.

Edward was in the middle of exercising, apparently. He was currently doing sit-ups, with his feet hooked under the bed. His back was to me, but there was a large mirror on the other side of the room, so I was able to see his profile. His eyes were closed, so I was able to stand there for a minute and admire the way his muscles flexed and rolled under his skin every time he pulled himself up.

He had discarded his shirt, so it was the first time I'd see his bare back, and the sight of the tattoo stretched across his upper back and shoulders nearly made me weak in the knees. It was some sort of tribal design or something, in green and black, with swirls and angles and knots. I'd seen the angel on his forearm before, of course – when he wore just a T-shirt, it showed. But this was the first time I was able to completely see the second tatt on his upper arm. Most of it was usually covered by his sleeve. In the reflection of the mirror, I saw enough to tell it was the scales of justice with some blade-looking things surrounding it.

Before he could catch me staring, I turned and continued on to my bedroom, grabbing the stuff I needed for my shower. If I was lucky, by the time I came out to the kitchen, no one would be able to tell how much the sight of him had affected me.

~oOo~

When I got to the kitchen, Edward was already there, clean in jeans and a T-shirt, his feet bare. I could hear the TV on in the living room, some dry voice talking about World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, so I knew Jasper was in there alone, since Alice was in our bedroom getting ready to shower. I slipped to the fridge, grabbing a bottled water before moving up to the counter, where Edward was cracking eggs into a bowl.

"Can I help?" I asked, careful to keep my eyes on the food, rather than him. If I didn't watch myself, I would be caught staring at his arms and back, searching for the tattoos.

Edward nudged the can of biscuits with his elbow. "You can pop these open and put them out on the tray if you'd like."

I nodded and set down my water before grabbing the blue can and trying to find the corner of the paper that I could use to open the thing. Finally finding it, I scratched at it with my fingernail until I was able to loosen it, and then I pulled, tearing it away slowly.

When the can popped open, I squeaked with surprise, even though I'd been prepared.

Edward chuckled. "Gets me every time, too. Even when I think I'm ready for it."

"Yeah," I murmured, pulling the doughy biscuits out one by one and putting them on the cookie sheet to go into the oven.

We continued to cook breakfast together, slicing cantaloupe, frying bacon, but through it all, I stayed silent, unable to keep myself from stealing glances at the man beside me.

I must have taken it too far, because Edward suddenly asked, "Everything okay? You worried about tomorrow?"

"No," I answered quickly. "I mean, yeah, of course I am. But I'm okay. Just thinking."

He nodded and turned back to the bacon in the skillet on the stove.

Before I could stop myself, my mouth opened again. "I saw you," I blurted. "I mean, when I went to take my shower. I saw your tattoos. They're pretty."

Shit, I felt like an idiot. _Pretty, Mar—Bella? Really?_

"I mean, they look cool. When did you get them?"

That was better, but only marginally.

Edward was quiet for a minute, long enough that I was sure he wasn't going to answer. Then he said, "I kind of hung out with the wrong crowd when I first got to college. I got my first one done when I was drunk, but I liked it, so it wasn't long before I started working on the idea for the second one."

"Which was first?" I couldn't help but ask.

He rolled the sleeve of his T-shirt up to expose the scales of justice on his bicep. "This one."

I reached out to trace the pattern and quickly pulled my hand back, not wanting to overstep. "Did you always want to be in law enforcement? Is that why the scales of justice?"

Shaking his head, Edward said, "No. I mean, yeah, but I got it, and the angel, to represent, to honor, my...my birth father."

I blinked, having not expected that. "The man you showed me in the picture...he's not your father?"

Edward was quick to disagree. "He's my father." His voice was hard, but then it softened when he continued. "He's been my father since I was three, when he married my mom. I didn't know until high school that we weren't blood related."

God, I couldn't even imagine finding out suddenly that my dad wasn't my biological father. "That...must have sucked," I finally said.

He huffed a laugh. "Actually, it made me feel... Things kind of made more sense after that. I was so different from my dad growing up. He's always been so serious, so into being a doctor. He doesn't like playing sports – he's more content to read than be outside. And even from when I was little, I always felt like something was missing. I couldn't put it into words – can't really even now – but sometimes, it felt like I just didn't...fit.

"Anyway, we were doing blood typing in biology my junior year of high school, and when Rose and I compared our results, we realized there was no way we could be blood related. So we confronted our parents."

Edward didn't say anything for a minute, and I bit my lip, wondering if I should just stay quiet, but my curiosity got the better of me. "What'd they say?"

Running a hand over his head, Edward gripped his hair and tugged before speaking, as if centering himself. "My parents met when I was two years old; Rose was almost three. It was about six months after my birth father had been killed."

As he continued telling me the story of his birth father, whom he'd been named after, I realized that in a way, we had something in common. Both our lives had been affected irreparably by organized crime – his father had been killed, and now I was witness to a crime that was changing my entire life.

"So the angel is the same as the one on my birth father's tombstone, a visual reminder that he was a part of me, even if Carlisle truly became my dad," Edward continued. "The scales of justice are to represent him as a lawyer, but also the calling I've had since high school to work for justice and the law in my own way."

Nodding, I glanced at his back as he turned away to pour the eggs into the skillet.

"And the...tribal design or whatever it is on your back?" I couldn't help but ask, wondering why he hadn't mentioned it yet.

There was a pause before he finally said, "It's a Celtic knot."

"When did you—"

"I don't talk about that one," Edward said, his tone biting.

"Is it for your—"

"I said I don't talk about it," he growled, slamming the spatula down on the stove top. "Tell the others breakfast is ready."

~oOo~

I woke up Friday feeling more nervous than I had at any point during this process so far. Today was the day we were going to be speaking to the attorney from the Department of Justice about our future.

The rest of the day yesterday had been tense, and by the time I'd gone to bed, things hadn't been any better. It had been one of the most uncomfortable days we'd spent with the two men protecting us. Jasper had tried to lighten things up a bit, telling us jokes, funny stories about some of the fugitives they'd had to capture, and about growing up on a ranch in Texas. Alice had listened with rapt attention, but I'd only had half a mind on Jasper, while the other half was constantly thinking about Edward.

He had spent a lot of the day outside smoking – a habit which I thought was disgusting, even if he did look fuck-hot sometimes, like he was posed for one of those old-fashioned cigarette ads. When he wasn't outside, he was in the living room with his eyes glued to the TV or in his bedroom, lifting weights with a set of dumbbells he'd found in the closet of the master bedroom. He'd barely said two words to Alice or me the entire day.

Breakfast was a quick affair of cereal and fresh fruit. Jasper had finally sent Edward to the store the day before when he'd snapped at Alice after she asked him what his problem was. He'd come back with grapes, oranges, and several kinds of berries.

Once we were finished eating, I took my shower and got dressed, telling Alice I'd wait for her in the living room while she showered.

When I walked in, Edward was the only one in there. I immediately turned around, intending to go back to the bedroom to wait, but stopped when he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Slowly, I turned back and looked at him, feeling the emotions I'd felt the day before – confusion, anger, and hurt – come back to me at those two little words. Raising an eyebrow, I waited for him to continue.

"I shouldn't have snapped," he finally said, letting out a deep breath. "That tattoo is a reminder of... Well... Just know I was being truthful when I said I understand why some pictures have to be deleted or burned. You aren't the only one with a _Mike_ in your past."

I could see the pain and anger as they flitted through his eyes before he locked them down again. I wanted to take that away, if only for a minute.

Smirking, I said, "You never told us you were gay, Edward. I mean, it's okay, really. I'm just sorry Mike apparently gets around."

He barked out a laugh and shook his head. "Not gay... Fuck. _Her_ name doesn't matter, but now you know why I don't like to talk about that one." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Anyway, I shouldn't have snapped like I did, and I shouldn't have been such an ass all day. So..."

I smiled, feeling the last of my anger melt away, and I nodded. "Okay. Thank you for...explaining."

He shrugged just as Alice and Jasper came into the living room.

"You kids make nice?" Jasper teased.

I laughed as Edward lunged for him, punching him hard on the bicep.

"Ow, damn! Touchy, touchy!"

Edward rolled his eyes and grinned, but then turned to my sister. "Sorry I snapped at you yesterday," he said firmly.

"No worries!" Alice smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Even guys get PMS. I get it."

Edward looked stunned, which made the rest of us laugh, and then he shook his head and looked at the clock. "Let's go before I turn into even more of a woman. And I'm driving," he told Jasper, grabbing the keys from the other man's hand.

Before opening the garage door, they gave us last-minute instructions about keeping our heads down until they gave the okay, and then we were off.

~oOo~

The drive to the motel took about an hour and a half because Edward wanted to make sure we weren't tailed from the house and wanted to park down the street and go check it out on foot before taking us in. When we finally checked in to the room, we realized why Edward had described it the way he had. It was even worse than the first motel we'd stayed at. There were people hanging around outside some of the rooms – although, from what I could tell, most of them were prostitutes.

Ten minutes after we got situated inside, there was a knock on the door and Edward and Jasper made us go into the bathroom while they drew their guns to answer.

"Come on out, ladies," Jasper finally drawled. "It's just the DOJ attorney."

Alice and I walked out to see a gorgeous redhead in a perfectly neat, perfectly professional-looking suit. The skirt showed off an impressive set of long legs, and while I wanted to hate her for being so beautiful, the smile she gave us was warm and genuine. She held her hand out as we walked up.

"Victoria James. It's nice to meet you, although I'm sorry it's under these circumstances."

"Marie," I said, pointing to myself. "Or rather, Isabella, I guess now."

Victoria smiled and nodded before looking at Alice. "And that must make you Mary."

Alice nodded. "Yes, now Alice."

"Good, good. Have a seat, ladies." Victoria took the third seat, leaving the guys to stand against the wall, watching over the three of us.

Before she could say more, Edward spoke again. "You aren't who I expected they'd send." There was a touch of wariness to his voice.

She smiled and glanced at us before turning her attention back to him. "I thought they would be more comfortable with a woman."

"Been at the job long?" He was still brusque-sounding, like he wasn't sure he trusted her.

Nodding, she answered, "I've been with the DOJ for over five years. This is my first big Witness Security case, but I'm prepared to handle it. Peter trained us himself."

Finally, Edward gave a nod, and Victoria turned back to Alice and me.

"I have here all the information for your new lives. We'll go over it now, and then you can take the paperwork with you to memorize your new information, all right?" At our nods, she said, "Your new last name will be Swan. Isabella and Alice Swan. You will remain twins, but your birthday is now April tenth of the same year. After the trial, you'll be moved to Seattle, where we'll help set you up with a house and the means to get you started."

Victoria continued to spout off information about our new lives – social security numbers, family history, living and work histories – I felt my head swimming. It was a lot of information, and it meant our old lives as Marie and Mary Brandon were gone. Our parents were no longer Charles and Renee Brandon, our grandmother no longer Isabella Renee Higgenbotham.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Victoria asked, "Any questions?"

Alice shook her head, and I copied that, knowing I could ask her or the guys about anything I'd missed.

"Great," she chirped, flashing a smile. "I'll just gather up everything for you and then head out."

I watched as she flirted with Edward, reaching out to trace the tattoo visible on his forearm. The way she was tossing her hair over her shoulder and smiling at him made her look way too...friendly. And I noticed her brown eyes, making me think the red of her hair wasn't natural.

"Call me sometime after this case wraps up, Edward, okay?" She batted long, but overly made up eyelashes at him after tucking the papers into a folder and handing it to him. "My number's on the card there."

Edward made a non-committal sound without actually agreeing to anything, and for some reason, I felt the knot in my chest ease slightly, knowing he didn't seem interested in her long legs, big chest, and pretty red hair.

"Let me walk you out, Ms. James," Jasper drawled, rolling his eyes behind her back before plastering on a smile when she turned.

She threw out goodbyes to us, giving Edward one last vampy smile before Jasper opened the door and hustled her out.

He came back in a couple of minutes later and said, "All clear. I didn't see anyone suspicious hanging around – or no more than usual for this place – and no strange vehicles in the lot."

"Okay, ladies," Edward said, placing a hand on my lower back and moving us toward the door. "Keep your heads down, walk straight to the car, and climb in as fast as you can without attracting any more attention than is necessary. Stay down until we tell you, and we'll get back to the house safely. Any questions?"

Alice and I shook our heads no and followed Jasper as he led the way to the car.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I was drowning in silken skin and dark brown hair. Limber legs wrapped around me while small hands gripped and pulled and pushed. My name had never sounded so good; it was a plea, a command, and a claim of ownership all rolled into a simple two syllable word.

"Edward..."

I surrendered to it because I couldn't resist. It wasn't about getting laid; it was about touching, pleasing, and the curiosity of what that beautiful face would look like letting go of just...everything. But it absolutely had to be _my _touch, _my _hands that gave her the escape. Bracing myself over her, I looked into those fathomless eyes, and gone was the wall that always surrounded her. There was trust and something I couldn't quite name. But fuck, if she wasn't wet and warm and smelled so damned good.

A wicked gleam sparked through her eyes as her hand reached for my dick – my fucking aching dick.

My eyes snapped open, my body giving an involuntary shudder, and I groaned at my own hand in my shorts and the sweat beading on my forehead. My bedroom was dark, with only a small light leaking in from underneath the door. The sound of light footsteps padding down the hallway and the bathroom door closing made me pull my hand away from my twitching cock. It protested with a dull, painful throb, but I sat up and tilted my head at the sounds in the house – clock ticking, crickets outside the window, and the soft rumble of Jasper's snore from the living room, where he'd most likely just crashed out in front of the TV.

I heard the toilet flush, the water run, and the sound of the bathroom door opening. The girls tended to use the hall bathroom in the middle of the night so as to not wake each other. I was just about to lie back down into the sheets when I heard something I'd been hoping to never hear – the beep of one of the windows being opened.

"Shit," I hissed, leaping as quietly from the bed as I could and grabbing my gun off the nightstand.

The sound of running in the hall met my ears, and I plastered myself against the wall on the opposite side of my door. I was just about to reach for the doorknob when my door silently flew open.

The night light from the outlet just outside my room illuminated her perfectly, but she didn't see me. Wrapping my hand around her mouth, I pulled her away from the now-open door and back against my bare chest.

"Mmm!" she squeaked, the heat of her searing my skin.

"Shh, shh, shh, Bella," I whispered ever-so-quietly in her ear. "It's just me. Okay?" When she nodded, I turned her to face me, her body shaking under my hands on her shoulders. "In my closet, stay down, don't move. No matter what you hear. Got me?"

She nodded fervently but gripped my wrist. "Jasper's room. Shadows."

Nodding, I pointed to my closet once more, making sure she was in and tucked back into the dark before stepping out into the hall. Looking across the way, I saw wide, scared eyes staring at me. Waving Alice forward, I pointed to my room, and with silent steps, she dove behind me, and I smiled that she had that nine millimeter in her hand. With my own gun raised, I slipped down the hall to Jasper's room, nodding at the fact that his snore was no longer resounding through the house. He was wide awake...and stepping lightly into the hallway, his eyes on me. I pointed to his room, giving a signal to watch my back.

Carefully and slowly, I poked my head into the room. The lights were off, but I could see that the window was merely cracked, the curtains open just a little. Running to the window, I saw a figure darting across the backyard, and I slammed the window shut to stop the beeping alarm.

"We got a runner!" I snapped. "I'm going after him. Don't you leave this fucking house!" I pointed my thumb at my bedroom so he'd know the girls were in there.

He gave a quick nod and moved past me. "On it, Ed."

I rushed out of the room and through the dining room and kitchen. Throwing open the back deck door, I launched barefoot into the yard at a full-on run. The asshole's shadow was just diving behind the shed in the corner. He was a slow-moving bastard, that was for sure. Pouring all the speed I had into my legs, I ran full force across the yard, plastering my back against the side of the shed. Grinning to myself, I shook my head when I could hear his breathing just around the corner.

I looked back at the house as a car cranked up and tires peeled out, but the asshole waiting for me decided he needed to move. With a grunt, he ran for the trees, which ultimately would've led him straight to the main street, but I was faster, stronger, diving for him and tackling him to the ground.

Pinning him beneath me, I held his neck. "You should trade in a few canolis for a salad every now and then, motherfucker," I taunted him, turning him to his back. "You know, ease up on the pasta."

"Fuck you!" he grunted, trying for his gun that was just mere inches from his fingertips, but my reach was longer.

I tucked it into the back of my shorts, shaking my head. "You picked the wrong girls to fuck with."

"They're as good as dead, asshole. Face it. Save yourself some time and effort," he grunted while struggling beneath me.

He was short, a little too heavy, and old enough to know better. Old enough that he should have been receiving a pension somewhere, not running around as a do-boy for a mob goon. I ignored the sound of squealing tires, but neither of us were prepared for the light suddenly shining down on us from the headlights on the main road. Shots opened up on us, zinging past my face and shoulder so close that it made the hairs move and the air sing. I ducked just in time for Chubby to snatch up a rock and slam it into the side of my head.

"Fuck!" I grunted, seeing stars momentarily, but it gave the asshole enough leverage to push me off and make for his buddies.

I let them go. They outnumbered and out-gunned me. And they weren't my first fucking priority. Shaking my head to clear it, I snatched up my gun and double-timed it back to the kitchen door.

"Jesus, Edward!" Bella gasped, rushing to me with Alice on her heels. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I growled, shaking my head and touching my temple where it was really starting to sting. My fingers came away with blood on their tips. "Fucker. Lucky goddamn hit." I glanced up to see Jasper darting in from the garage. "We gotta go. Now!"

"I know," he gasped, panting like he'd run a mile. "I just tore that fucking car apart." He dropped a small square object onto the countertop, taking the hand-grip of his sidearm and smashing it into fucking pieces. "They tracked us."

Bella dove under the sink of the kitchen, coming up with a First Aid kit, but I waved her off.

"We don't have time," I told her.

"Let her at least stop the blood, Ed," Jasper said, jerking his thumb behind him. "I'll pack your shit, okay?"

"Sit, Edward," Bella whispered, gazing up at me but more at my temple.

I tugged out a kitchen chair, and fell wearily down into it. "You should be packing, Bella."

"We never really unpacked," she countered softly as she practically stood between my legs, and the warmth of her radiated off her sweet-smelling skin.

The smell of something medicinal met my nose, but I watched her face as she gently dabbed at my wound. When I flinched at the sting, she apologized but never wavered.

"You've done this before?" I asked her sarcastically.

"You think the dancer in there hasn't fallen?" she argued back, smirking a little. "But I've cleaned my share of scrapes and cuts, yeah."

Her face was so beautiful as she concentrated on applying a bandage. Those deep brown eyes held a touch more guilt, and I hated that she felt that way – like everything was her fault. It wasn't; it was that motherfucker, Volturi.

"Why'd you come to my room?" I asked her as Jasper and Alice hustled up and down the hallway gathering shit together.

Bella shrugged, locking gazes with me. "You were the closest door. You said for me to hide if ever I heard the window. I saw the shadow from Jasper's room and couldn't go down to the living room to get him unless I passed by his window. And I didn't think I had time to get to my gun. Your room seemed...the safest, the closest."

I tried to nod, but she held my face still.

"I also didn't know if you were awake," she continued softly, smoothing out the tape onto my forehead.

"Light sleeper," I told her, smirking at her small smile.

She stepped back away from me. "There. It wasn't a bad cut, but head wounds bleed pretty badly, so..." She shrugged, now looking sheepish.

"Thanks." I stood up, squeezing my eyes closed. "Asshole got in a cheap shot when the guns went off." I turned her around. "Go get your stuff. We've got to go – before the cops show up or the goons call for backup."

I stepped into the hallway, catching a T-shirt that Jasper tossed my way and tugging it on, careful of my new bandage. He then handed me a pair of sneakers, but my duffel bag was packed and slung over his shoulder.

"We gotta ditch the car," he stated, shrugging a little as I pulled my shoes on without bothering to tie them. "And you gotta call Al."

"I know. Once we're on the road, I'll call him." I turned down the hallway. "Ladies! Let's go!"

Bella and Alice flew out of their room and down the hallway.

"Get in the back seat, don't open the garage, and get low. Understand?" I ordered, and they both nodded without a word. Once they were gone, I turned to Jasper, shaking my head. "What are you..."

He grinned shamelessly, pulling out his wallet and tossing a hundred dollar bill onto the coffee table before snatching up the yoga DVDs from the shelf underneath the TV.

"Best money I've ever spent," he said with a chuckle. "Come on. We still have to switch cars."

The girls stayed cramped behind the front seats just about the whole way out of Southampton. As Jasper watched for tails, taking a round-about way, I pulled out the cell phone Uncle Al had given me. It rang several times before his sleepy, raspy voice came on the line.

"Edward?"

"We've been compromised. Someone put a tracker on us at the motel," I explained quickly. "We have to move quick, Al."

"Okay, okay," he rushed, sounding like he was running through his house. "Hang tight, kid. We'll get you a new location."

"I need a car, Al," Jasper yelled over from the driver's seat.

"I'll get that, too. Just keep driving. The girls okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine," I sighed, peering into the back seat. Alice was curled around herself on the floorboard, gazing up at me with a begging expression. "Hang in there," I told her, and she nodded.

"Who the fuck did the DOJ send to you?" he asked, typing furiously on his computer. "Not Peter Odom?"

"No, no...some crazy redhead...Victoria James," I told him, grimacing at the memory of her flirtatious behavior. "She said that being a woman would put the girls at ease, and it wasn't like she didn't know what she was doing."

"Gotcha, gotcha," he sighed, still typing. "First things first... Let's get you a new ride, son. Hang on the line."

"'Kay," I sighed, giving the mirror to my side a quick glance.

"We were being followed. I lost 'em," Jasper advised, but I held up a hand when I could hear my uncle giving someone hell on another phone line.

"_And you thought it would be a fucking brilliant idea to send someone green, Pete? She didn't know to watch for tails? Seriously? That's my family you fucked with!_" he yelled, but then his voice got quiet and he came back on the line. "Ed, I got you an untraceable car. Write this address down." I did as he asked, but he continued. "It'll be parked on the street, and the keys will be under the driver's seat. Dark green minivan. It's clear and tracker-free. Just transfer to it. Make sure you're not followed. By the time you call me back, I'll have you someplace to stay. Got me?"

"Sir." I closed the phone, handing Jasper the address. "Go here."

Jasper typed the address into the GPS, following it step by step.

I turned around to see the girls. "I think you're okay to crawl into the seats, but stay as low as you can for me. Okay?" I asked, and they nodded, doing as I'd said, staying slouched down in the seats while putting on their seat belts. I sighed at the sight of their terrified faces. "I know you're scared, but hang in there. This'll take a bit to sort out. I can't take the chance of someone identifying this car, so we need a different one. And then we have to find a new safe house. All right?"

Alice nodded, but Bella surveyed my temple. "How's your head?"

"Good as new, so don't sweat it," I told her, facing the front when Jasper turned down a street filled with brownstones.

The dark green minivan was about halfway up the street. Jasper pulled up next to it, and I was grateful for the early morning hour because he could stay parked next to it as we not only moved all our shit into it, but we could guard the girls as they dove into the back.

"Ed, I'm gonna dump this car. Meet me two blocks over," he said, pointing to the right.

I nodded, got into the driver's seat, and cranked it up. Before I'd even pulled away from the curb, Jasper was already turning at the end of the street. I found him two blocks up, just like he'd said, standing on the sidewalk like he'd been walking all damn night. A quick glance down the alleyway, and I could see the Taurus abandoned in the shadows.

I pulled to the curb, smirking at him. "Want a date?"

He snorted, rolling his eyes at the girls once he was in the passenger seat. "He fucking wishes. He _so_ couldn't handle all of this..." He gestured up and down his body.

If anything, that relaxed the girls a bit. They laughed softy at him and settled down low in the captain's seats behind us. I was grateful for the dark tinted windows.

Pulling out my phone once more, I dialed Al, who answered immediately. "Tell me you've got me something, Al. I gotta get these girls off the street. And preferably out of this fucking city," I told him, because being back in Manhattan was making me way too edgy.

"Yes...to both. Head north. Get to I-95. Here's your address," he said and then rattled off an address in Connecticut. "That will take you about an hour out of the city and about two from where you were."

"What is this place?" I asked him, eyeballing my six, but it seemed that we'd lost all tails.

"A federal safe house."

"Perfect. Thanks, Uncle Al," I sighed into the phone at the same time I merged onto the highway.

"No problem, kid. Just glad you're okay." He was quiet for a moment. "I want you to drop the phone you're using once we're through and pick up a new burner phone tomorrow. Once you do that, call me. I should have some information for you."

"Sir," I grunted.

"And Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Good job, son. Just keep doing what you're doing. And for fuck's sake, be careful."

I smiled a little. "Sir." I handed Jasper the phone. "Tear that apart and get rid of it."

Jasper dropped the broken pieces of that phone onto the interstate for the next thirty miles and along two highways. It was still dark by the time I drove through the streets of Fairfield, Connecticut, the size and grandeur of the houses causing me to shake my head.

Jasper and I stayed quiet because the girls had fallen asleep in their seats. Something about that made me smile. They trusted us enough to let their guard down. Considering all they'd been through the last few weeks, that was a big deal.

The house was a simple pale yellow, two-story home in the middle of a fairly quiet neighborhood. I parked around at the back, allowing Jasper to scope it out as I stayed in the van guarding the girls.

"All clear," he stated, stepping out the back door and walking to me. "Though we'll need to fill it up with supplies."

"I'll do it in the morning. I've got to get another phone anyway," I told him, sliding the van's side door open as quietly as possible. "Let's just..." I ran a hand through my hair and then along the back of my neck, hating the thought of disturbing them because they looked so fucking peaceful. "We'll get them in and then come back out for our shit, yeah?" I asked, and he nodded in agreement.

"Up the stairs and the second door on the right," Jasper said, and I nodded. "We'll surround 'em that way."

Bella was the closest to me, so I carefully slipped my arms around her shoulders and beneath her legs. She curled into me with the softest of sighs, one small hand gripping a fistful of my T-shirt at my shoulder, and I tried my damnedest to not give a shit, but it was impossible. It was also impossible to ignore the sweet smell of her hair, the heat of her pressed against my chest, and even more, the feel of her face now buried in my neck as I climbed the steps into the house.

I carried her upstairs and into the middle bedroom, which would put Jasper and me on either side of the girls. When I set her down onto the right side of the bed at the same time Jasper settled Alice on the left, Bella gasped awake, still gripping my shirt.

"Edward!?"

"Hey, hey," I soothed her, pushing her back down onto the pillow and prying those tenacious fingers off my clothes. "It's okay."

"Where are we?" she mumbled, rolling to her side at the same time as she was trying to kick off her sneakers.

Giving her a break, I pulled them off and tossed them to the floor, tugging the covers up over her. "You're safe, Bella. I promise. Go back to sleep."

Her softly muttered, "Mkay," came at the same time as Alice's to Jasper, and with a smile, the two of us headed for the door.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: ;) Now, you didn't think I'd let this protection detail go smoothly, did you? C'mon, now! LOL**

**For pictures of Edward's tattoos, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Jenny's website. You can see our profile for the links. :) And for those pics, we need to send enormous hugs and thank yous to Mimi Holmes and Bethany Tullos. They've been making us some of the most beautiful teasers, manipulations, and banners for _In Pursuit_. Thanks, ladies!**

**It seems that the slow burn for some of you will kill you – my firefighters at the top of the list. So...I'll tell you what. Here's a fic rec from Jenny and me that will definitely tide you over. It's a WIP, but it might be one of THE HOTTEST Edwards we've read in a very long time! Shamwows are required. Trust us. ;)**

_**Deviant**_** by planetblue … **** s/9069505/1**** ... Summary: He pissed me off and then he turned me on. Spectacularly.**

**Okay, we'll see you next Wednesday for the teaser and then Sunday for chapter 7. Until then... Mooches, Deb :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N #1: Nearly 1000 reviews in 6 chapters. You guys absolutely blow our minds every chapter with your reactions. Thank you so very much! We both read them all, even though we don't reply unless you have an issue or a pressing question. And on that note, here are answers to the latest round of questions:**

**The four of them knew ahead of time the girls would be moving at least close to Seattle. As their handlers, the boys would have them close enough to be able to help if needed. You'll find out more about Edward's mysterious tattoo and the reason behind it, as well as more about Victoria and how the bad guys found them, soon. (Don't be too judgy judgy yet. ;) )**

**Now, let's see how the gang is getting along in Connecticut, okay? See Deb at the bottom. ;) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 7**

**Bella POV**

I was alone in a strange bedroom when I woke. Sunlight was streaming through the soft curtain, diffusing the light so it wasn't blinding me as it fell across the bed. Alice's pillow was gone, so I wasn't sure where she was, but I knew she was in the house somewhere.

I was still dressed in the jeans and T-shirt I'd thrown on before we fled the house in Southampton the night before, so when I stepped out of the room, I made a pit stop in the bathroom I found across the hall and then hurried down the hall to find the kitchen.

"Morning, sunshine," Jasper said quietly. He was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping from a steaming mug. "There's more coffee if you'd like some."

Shaking my head, I looked around. "No, thanks. Have you seen Alice?" I'd expected her to be in the kitchen when I got in there.

He nodded, frowning slightly. "She had a nightmare last night and came out to the living room. Said she didn't want to wake you. I let her crash on the couch."

"Oh! Um, okay..."

For the first time in a long time – and definitely the first time since that horrible night at Eleazar's office – my sister had gone to someone else for comfort when plagued with a nightmare. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. I'd noticed things between her and Jasper beginning to become more...real, I supposed, but I hadn't realized it had gotten to the point that she would rather seek out his company than mine. The thought that she didn't need me was more than a little frightening, and I had to bite my lip to keep the tears at bay.

Jasper didn't seem to notice my discomfort, because he went on without commenting. "Edward is out picking up some groceries and other items we needed, including a new phone. He should be back shortly with breakfast. I'm afraid this—" he held up the coffee cup "—is the only thing in the cabinets besides a few cans of baked beans, fruit cocktail, and canned meat."

"Mm, the breakfast of champs," I muttered, feigning a shiver.

Laughing, he nodded. "Exactly."

There was some complicated knock on a door off to the side of kitchen that I assumed was a garage door.

"That'd be Edward," Jasper said, standing and moving to the door.

When he opened it, I saw that I'd been correct. Edward was standing there, his arms full of bags, and the green minivan we'd driven to the house in last night was parked in the closed garage behind him.

"Morning, Bella. Jazz, get the rest of the groceries, man." Edward smiled as he walked past me. "I got doughnuts for breakfast," he called over his shoulder. "Hope that's okay."

"Mmm." My stomach was suddenly growling at the thought of the deep fried, sugary deliciousness. "Chocolate-covered custard filled?"

He laughed. "I got a little of a lot of things. Wasn't sure what you and Alice would like. Jasper and I will eat what you don't want, I'm sure."

"Thanks," I told him, moving over to help him unload.

As Jasper brought another two handfuls of plastic bags full to the kitchen, I started getting things out and putting them on the counter. Edward had gotten drinks, pasta, cereal, bread, fruit, crackers, cheese, lunchmeat, jarred pasta sauces, canned soups, and half the meat case – I saw ground beef, steaks, a big roast of some sort, and a giant pork loin – as well as things like toilet paper, paper towels, and some other household goods.

"Damn, you bought out the store, didn't you?" I asked with a giggle.

"Hush up, you," Edward growled playfully. "Go get the doughnuts from the front seat."

"Sir. Yes, sir!" Laughing, I made my way to the garage, avoiding the teasing grumble from the man in the kitchen.

When I got back, Alice had just walked into the kitchen. Her short hair was standing on end, and she was rubbing sleep out of her eyes, looking rumpled but adorable in a pair of sleep pants and a tank top.

"Morning," I said as I passed her.

"Mo—" she yawned before finishing "—rning."

The next few minutes were spent finishing putting away the groceries, and then we all fell on the doughnuts like we hadn't eaten in a week. I grabbed my favorite, the custard-filled, as well as a glazed and a jelly-filled, sitting down at the table. Alice slid into the seat on one side of me, holding two of her own, while Jasper took the seat beside her, sliding a glass of milk to her.

"Want one?" Edward suddenly asked from my other side.

I looked up to find him holding a stack of doughnuts in one hand and two glasses of milk in the other. He was holding up the milk to show me what he'd meant.

"Oh! Yeah, thanks." I took it carefully and flashed him a smile. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said, shrugging.

I was quiet throughout breakfast, listening to my sister chatter to Jasper and Edward about wanting to see if this place had cable, wondering if there were any board games, and wishing there was someplace she could set up to dance.

"There's a basement," Jasper told her. "It's got hardwood floors, and we could shove all the furniture aside. Won't be mirrors like you're used to, but it'll be somethin' anyway."

"Yeah, that would be perfect!" Alice grinned, nodding.

"What about you, Bella?" Edward asked around a bite of doughnut. "Anything you're missing?"

My answer slipped out before I thought to censor it. "I miss being outside."

Alice frowned. "Yeah, me, too."

"In New York, I walked a lot. I mean, I took the subway, but there was always walking to and from the subway, down to the deli on the corner, to the bookstore a few blocks away."

Edward looked at Jasper for a moment and then back to me. "I can't promise anything, but we'll try, okay?"

I nodded, happy that he was at least considering it. That's when I noticed that Edward's bandage was gone from his temple, and that reminded me of the night before.

"How's your head?" I asked, motioning in the general direction of the side of his head.

He shrugged. "It's fine. I've got a hard head." He winked at me when Jasper laughed and then turned to him and snapped, "Shut it, or I'll tell the girls about the time you slipped on the ice outside and had to shave a patch of hair to get stitches."

Alice and I giggled at Jasper's glare.

"Wasn't my fault. _Someone_ forgot to salt the sidewalk behind the building," he grumbled.

"Don't look at me," Edward sang, winking at us. "That was Jessica's job."

"Jessica?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

This time, it was Edward's time to glare as Jasper explained, "The receptionist at the office. She's got the hots for Eddie."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

I giggled and decided to save him any more of being in the spotlight. "Hey, um... We didn't give the key back to the neighbor last night, did we?"

"We weren't worried about that," Edward said, shrugging. "We were more concerned with getting the two of you to safety."

Biting my lip, I thought for a minute. "Can we maybe...I dunno...send it or something? I feel bad 'cause we left in the middle of the night, didn't put things right with the house, and we kind of borrowed it without the owner's permission."

"Al will take care of it," Edward said, but then he looked over at the phone in the middle of the table. "That does remind me, though. I need to call him and check in."

He dialed a number and then pushed the button to put it on speakerphone, setting it down in front of him.

A man's voice answered almost immediately. "Edward?"

"Yeah, Uncle Al. It's me." He winked at Jasper. "How big was the patch of hair Jasper had to get shaved last year?"

The man, Al, laughed. "Three inches. Been telling tales out of school again, Ed?"

Edward laughed, too. "Always." He grinned and winked at Alice and me. "Hey, listen, Al. I have the girls on here, too. I wanted to get an update on everything. They're worried about leaving the house so suddenly and not cleaning it for the owners, and I wanted an update on our visitors."

"Hello, ladies," Al said smoothly. "My boys treatin' you right?"

Alice and I giggled. "Yes, sir," we echoed.

"Good, good. That's what I like to hear." He cleared his throat. "So listen. Here's the latest. We've already sent a team to the house to clean it up and get it ready for the return of the owners. Edward, you can dump the key. We'll have a locksmith out later today to make a new key to give back to the neighbor.

"We also had a team out this morning to the motel you met Victoria James at. They asked around to some of the...regulars, and the few who admit to seeing something said they saw a man who, in their words, looked like he was up to no good. They claimed he opened the car door and then closed it moments later, only to get into a late-model dark blue or black four-door sedan, unknown make or model, and leave the parking lot with another man driving the vehicle.

"I've read Pete the riot act – again – for sending a rookie to do a job this important, and Victoria said to please pass on her apologies."

Edward cursed. "An apology? She almost got these girls killed, Al. Whether she meant to or not doesn't matter. If we hadn't been here, they—"

I stopped Edward with a hand on his arm. "But she didn't, Edward," I said quietly. "You and Jasper were there for us. We're okay, and they won't make that mistake again, right?"

The fire in his eyes died a little as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right. They won't make that mistake again. Right, Al?"

"Yeah, Ed. Pete knows that if you guys have to meet with anyone from the DOJ again, he's it. He's to trust no one else."

Raising an eyebrow, Edward asked, "And you trust Peter?"

"With my life," Al answered. "Hell, with your life, and the lives of Jasper and those girls you're responsible for."

Edward was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded. "Good enough for me." He looked at Alice and me and asked, "Sound okay to you, ladies?"

Alice and I nodded.

"All right, then. We're good here. Thanks, Al."

"You shouldn't have been in that position in the first place," he said. "No thanks are necessary."

~oOo~

We'd been at the Connecticut house for a week, and I had a horrible case of cabin fever. The guys had been trying to find things to keep us occupied, but after today's game of Pictionary, I was more in need of the outdoors than ever.

It had started off badly and only gone downhill after that.

"_I call Jasper!" Alice sang, dancing to his side._

_I didn't know who looked more surprised: Jasper or me._

_Alice and I had always been a team, all the way from childhood, but even more so since our parents' death. Ever since we'd been put in protective custody, I'd felt her pulling away from me. This was just one more hint that things – our lives – were changing._

_She must have noticed my reaction, because she looked at me and asked, "I mean, if that's okay...?"_

_I was tempted to tell her no, that I wanted her to be my partner, but I couldn't deny the excitement in her eyes, the hope... After everything else I was forcing on her, I couldn't take this away from her, too._

_Pasting a smile on my face, I said in a falsely cheerful voice, "Of course! Edward and I can partner up, right, Edward?"_

_He eyed me for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, sure. We'll have fun."_

_For some reason, I didn't believe him any more than I believed I was okay with Alice partnering with Jasper._

I hadn't been able to get into the game, although I'd tried my hardest to relax and have fun for Alice's sake. She'd seemed to have more fun during the game than we'd had since the beginning of all this started. She'd laughed and flirted with Jasper, who had flirted right back. I'd heard more southern drawl during that hour than I'd ever heard before. And for Alice's sake, I was glad she was happy...but I wasn't.

Edward's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Hey, B. Come with me."

I set down the book I'd been trying to read and stood. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he answered mysteriously.

I followed him from the living room through the kitchen to the back door. When he stepped outside, I paused.

"Well, come on." When I hesitated, he laughed. "Don't you want to come out?"

"Yeah?"

Rather than answering, he turned and sat in one of the patio chairs, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Taking a tentative step outside, I closed the door behind me and moved to one of the other chairs, looking out over the grass of the backyard.

"You know, that stuff'll kill you," I said without looking at him.

I heard the hiss of the lighter and smelled the smoke as he took the first drag of his freshly lit cigarette.

"Yeah, well... Everyone's gotta die sometime," he said matter-of-factly.

We were quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the late-afternoon sunlight.

"It's pretty out here," I whispered, not wanting to break the silence but unable not to comment.

Edward hummed his agreement.

"The grass is so green. Not a lot of that in the concrete jungle of New York."

He smirked. "Wait'll you see the Pacific Northwest." He motioned around the yard. "You can go explore if you want. Don't leave the yard, but at least it's something."

I nodded. "Thanks, really."

We were quiet again, and I slowly felt the tension easing slightly. Then I heard Alice laughing from inside and it was back, tightening my shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked quietly, looking over at me. "You suddenly seem...upset."

Eyeing the house over Edward's shoulder, I stayed quiet, not wanting to admit to how guilty I felt all the damn time and how sad and jealous I was over my sister's seemingly burgeoning relationship with Jasper.

Finally, I quietly asked, "Do...do we have to stay together once the trial is over?"

Edward stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table before looking over at me. "Why are you asking? You both specifically requested you stay together, right?"

I couldn't help but look back at the house again.

He lit another cigarette and blew out a ring of smoke. "Is this about you or Alice?" My flinch must have given me away. "You can talk to me, Bella."

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I said, "I just... I've been feeling so guilty, and I feel like I'm taking her away from the chance at a normal life. And now..." I blew out a breath, ruffling the hair around my face. "She... I feel her pulling away from me. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't the one she turned to when she had a nightmare, and then she chose Jasper over me earlier for the game." I laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "God, I sound like a baby. It's just one more change among all the others right now, and I'm not handling it well. It's always been the two of us, since childhood, but especially since our parents died, and now... I feel like I'm holding her back."

I flinched when Edward stubbed out his cigarette and stood, surprising me when he knelt in front of me so we were eye to eye.

"Bella, even if you had stayed in New York, you'd have eventually separated. Whether it was a job, a guy... Whatever. People grow and move on. Even sisters as close as the two of you. That doesn't mean you wouldn't be in each other's lives. Hell, sometimes it means you'd be closer than ever before because when you did see each other, it would be a bigger deal than just coming home every night.

"As for the guilt..." Edward scoffed. "What the hell do you have to feel guilty about? You certainly didn't pull the fucking trigger on your boss."

My sister's words came screaming back into my head, and I finally said aloud everything that had been running through my head for weeks. "It was my fault. I was the one that left my cell phone at work. It was my boss that was involved with the mob. We were late getting there because we were at the club and...there was a guy." I huffed, frustrated. "I was blowing off steam like I usually did on a Friday night, so by the time we got to the office... If we'd left thirty minutes earlier, we might've missed it all and we wouldn't be in this whole mess."

"And maybe you'd have been there in time to see the asshole arrive and he'd have shot both of you because you were witnesses," Edward argued. "Bella, none of that shit makes a fucking difference. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing more."

"But if I hadn't forgotten—"

"Bullshit," he growled, leaning forward with his hands on the arms of my chair. "So you forgot your cell phone. Everyone forgets shit sometimes. My sister will be lucky if my brother-in-law doesn't forget their kid in the mall or whatever someday." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Listen, none of this shit is your fault, that's all I'm saying. If you want to blame someone, blame that motherfucker Volturi. He's the one involved in the shit in the first place, and he's the one that pulled the fucking trigger. Not you. You aren't guilty because you forgot your damn cell phone or because you were getting your rocks off with a guy at the bar."

I looked away from him, hearing the words but still having trouble letting go of the guilt.

"And Bella..." He reached out and cupped my cheek, turning my face back to his. "It takes some serious balls to do what you're doing. Testifying, I mean. Not everyone would have the courage to do that. It's... You are brave and strong and amazing."

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, they were dark, heated. When I flicked my tongue out to moisten my suddenly dry lips, his eyes followed the movement, and we both leaned in, drawn like magnets to one another.

"Hey, Bella? Where are you?" Alice called from somewhere in the house. "Want to watch a movie?"

And just like that, whatever had been there was gone.

Edward stood and backed away, running a hand through his hair. "Remember what I said. If you come out here, stay in the yard, and don't come out without telling us first so we know." He raised an eyebrow, waiting until I'd nodded. "I'm gonna go call Al for an update and then crash for a while."

Then he was gone.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I steadied my breathing as I ran up the sidewalk. There was a huge difference between this neighborhood and the last one. It still had busy people – even on a Saturday – but the money, the cars, the houses...so much more in-your-face. The inhabitants were different, too. Where Long Island was mostly people that had lived there for generations and were nosy as all hell, Connecticut seemed younger and more worried about "keeping up with the Joneses."

Rolling my eyes as two teen girls watched me like a hawk, I turned the corner to make my way back to the safe house. I wiped the sweat off my face with my T-shirt before stepping into the living room. Jasper was stretched out on the sofa, his eyes plastered to the History Channel.

"How was your run, dear?" Jasper snorted, glancing my way. "Did the cougar two streets over molest you yet?"

I grinned. "Nah, she had the pool boy today. His truck was parked in the driveway."

"Poor fucker," he said with a chuckle because we'd both been eye-fucked by the same woman on our runs. She was shameless and wore way too much makeup, practically offering us everything from lemonade to cocaine to get our attention.

"Lonely woman," I countered with a shrug. "She's not the first I've seen..."

"True," he groaned, sitting forward. "Coffee's made. And I made Breakfast-in-a-Bowl this morning. Just microwave yours."

"Cool. Thanks." I nodded, suddenly fucking ravenous. Jasper's Breakfast-in-a-Bowl was fantastic – skillet fries topped with scrambled eggs and sausage, and he made a kick-ass gravy for the top of it. It would kill a man with a heart condition, but fuck, if it didn't taste good.

"Oh, and Bella's outside in the backyard. She went out there about thirty minutes ago," he told me, holding up a hand when I opened my mouth. "I just checked on her when I got another cup of coffee. She's fine, Ed."

"Well, keep an eye on her until I can get showered and changed," I stated before heading upstairs, taking two steps at a time. Forgoing my push-ups, I headed straight for the bathroom.

It had been a couple of days since I'd told Bella she could go outside, even if it was only the fenced-in backyard. She'd looked so damned lost since we'd been in the Fairfield house. I'd catch her alone more times than not, and that bugged the shit out of me. What pissed me off even more was her question about her sister.

I wasn't fucking stupid. I could see what was happening between Jasper and Alice. What hurt was to watch Bella trying to come to terms with it, trying to find the courage to face the unknown future alone because she felt her sister pulling away. But it would've happened eventually. Twins or not, the girls would've eventually had to separate, whether they'd been Marie and Mary or Bella and Alice. With all that was going on, and all the guilt that Bella was feeling, I could see she felt completely and utterly alone.

Bella blamed herself for forgetting her phone, for pulling her sister away from their lives, and for running late the night that Denali had been killed. But she had shit all twisted up in her head. Had she been any earlier, it could've been disastrous. She and Alice could've been killed that same fucking night.

I snorted, shaking my head as I let the water run down my head. Running late...because she'd blown off some steam on a Friday night. I smirked, thinking Bella and I had more in common than I'd originally guessed. I couldn't blame the girl for going out and getting hers. More power to her. I'd certainly done my share of that, so I damn well couldn't judge her. Though the thought of someone touching her made me rabidly protective because she was my responsibility.

My forehead thumped to the tiles of the shower. That was bullshit, and I knew it. My attraction to her was only growing by leaps and bounds. She was beautiful and smart, but broken and scared out of her fucking mind, and it was all I could do not to kiss her a few days ago. I rationalized it as wanting to take the sadness from those deep brown eyes, but I was lying to myself. I'd been _so fucking close_ to just kissing the living shit out of her, and had it not been for Alice's interruption, I wasn't so sure I'd have stopped at just a kiss. The desire to make everything okay for her was starting to rule my head, and I couldn't have that. I had to stay focused on the job.

The messed-up part was that I'd avoided her ever since. I'd needed space in order to maintain professionalism. Fuck, that was a lie, too. I was scared as hell. I needed to protect her, but I wanted to know just exactly how she felt, how she tasted, just how limber she really was.

Narrowing my eyes at my traitorous dick as it hardened at the mere thought of Bella, I groaned, reaching down to shut off the hot water in order to dowse myself in cold. I fought my want and was finally able to step out of the shower and get dressed. I didn't have time for that shit today, and my hand was never as good as the real thing, never mind how hard I was. I'd deal with it later.

The house was quiet, though I could hear the faint music from the basement where Alice liked to practice. I stepped into the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee and tossing my breakfast into the microwave. Gazing out through the back window, my eyes landed on Bella, who had moved one of the lawn chairs directly into the sunshine. She had a bottle of water in the grass next to her and her Kindle in her hand. And fuck, if she wasn't alone...again.

The microwave beeped and I pulled the bowl out, wolfing it down in several large bites and washing it all down with coffee. I tried my damnedest not to notice that the sunshine caused the prettiest shades of red to stand out in that mass of chestnut hair. I tried not to notice that her legs looked just as long and strong as they bent up at an angle, the daylight highlighting her muscles every time she shifted. When she rolled onto her stomach, I groaned at my own personal hell. Her back sloped into a graceful curve just before that perfect ass, and her hair flipped to one side, exposing the skin of her neck. I licked my lips, wanting to taste her everywhere, especially that bottom lip she was currently gnawing on.

Movement from the other side of the yard caught my attention. A soccer ball bounced once, twice, and then rolled to a stop right by her lawn chair. She smiled at it, setting her Kindle down. I shook my head at just how stunning that simple smile really was, my eyes locking onto the fence. By the time I stepped outside with my cigarettes in hand, two heads had popped up at the top of the fence from the yard next door.

One was just a kid – maybe seven or eight – while the other was obviously his father.

Before I could stop her, Bella was already walking to them, saying, "Lose something?"

"Yeah, thanks," the little guy gushed with a toothless smile as she tossed the ball back over.

"You're welcome."

The kid was gone, chasing after the ball that Bella had tossed over the fence, but the dad remained. Not that I could blame him, but his eyes raked over her from head to toe. He smiled crookedly, giving her a wave.

"Thank you," he told her, his eyes aimed more toward her tits in that tank top than her face.

"No problem," she sang back, turning toward her chair, and the guy eyeballed her ass before he caught sight of me stepping down off the back deck and onto the grass.

Rationally, I knew the two homes on either side of the safe house had been completely checked out. They were monitored at all times so the house could, indeed, stay safe. But Bella's lack of caution pissed me the hell off.

I walked over to where she'd taken her seat again, standing over her.

"Hey, Edward. You're in my sun," she said, her smile falling at the sight of my face.

My nostrils flared as I shot a glance back at the fence, where I could hear the dad coaching the kid. Turning back to her, there was nothing stopping my temper.

"Are you trying to get yourself fucking killed, Bella?" I seethed through gritted teeth, my hands balling up into fists at my side. "That was stupid as hell. He could've been anyone."

"It was just a kid, Edward," she stated, standing up to face me. "I didn't leave the yard, and I didn't think—"

"That's right," I snapped, interrupting her and making her flinch back. "You didn't _fucking think_!" I shook my head. "You don't think Volturi's men don't have kids? You think they won't use _anything_ to get to you to shut you up?"

She shook her head, and I felt like an ass when tears welled up in those dark eyes.

"That was a dangerous bet you just made," I continued, my tone lowering. I bent down to make sure she was looking at me. "There are plenty of people putting their lives on the line to make sure you and Alice live to make it to the stand. It's hard enough without you taking risks to talk to perfect strangers." She nodded, glancing down at her bare feet, but I wasn't done. "Keeping you alive is one thing, but beating off the horny locals is another. I can't do both. Got me?"

Her eyes snapped back up to mine, and there was fire and venom and what looked like hatred. "Horny locals? As if that's even remotely on my mind right now? Fuck you, Edward! And leave me alone. Every move I make, you're there, smothering me. I can't even breathe without you in my face!"

She snatched up her water and her Kindle, leaving me standing in the yard alone. The sound of the back door slamming made me flinch.

I gripped my hair, letting out a deep breath. "Well, fuck!"

~oOo~

I couldn't fucking sleep. The house was silent as I wandered slowly and quietly down the hallway. Though, it wasn't as silent as Bella had been the last week and a half. That shit was not only quiet, but uncomfortable and hateful. She'd leave whatever room I entered, only talk to Jasper and Alice, and sink herself into whatever book she was reading or TV show she was watching, ignoring the fact that I existed.

It was my fault, but I couldn't risk her making the kind of mistakes that she had with the neighbor. However, in the loss of my temper, I'd done the one thing I'd been trying to avoid all along – I'd left her alone. And it wasn't like she had much interaction with her sister. Alice had pretty much turned completely to Jasper for everything – comfort, entertainment, safety.

As usual, I carefully opened the door to the girls' room, making sure all was okay. Bella slept tangled up in the sheets, her brow furrowed even in her sleep. My eyes narrowed on the other side of the bed. It was empty.

I closed the door, turning to make my way down to the living room, but smirked when Jasper's bedroom door cracked open and the tiny, raven-haired thing tiptoed out into the hall. Leaning against the wall, I folded my arms across my chest, waiting for Alice to turn around.

She gasped in surprise when she realized she was completely busted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," I taunted, though I was a little pissed off.

Alice shuffled from one foot to the other as I glared at her, not moving from where I stood.

"Edward, I..." she whispered, but I held a hand up.

"Don't bother. I get it," I whispered back. "But let me ask you something." She met my gaze, and I raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you blame your sister for this shit?" I asked, twirling a finger in midair.

"No, of course not," she gasped, shaking her head.

"Do you know she blames herself?" Alice's mouth gaped like a dying fish, but I didn't wait for an answer. "She feels responsible for it all, Alice. She thinks every step that night rests on her shoulders. The murder, the cell phone, the guy at the bar..."

"She told you about Jake?"

"Is that his name?" I snorted, shrugging a shoulder. "Look, I don't give a shit about him, but I do get the feeling she's taken care of you your whole life. Maybe it's time to return that favor... Hmm?" I waited until she nodded. "She hates me, so I'm no help, but you two are family..."

Alice snorted, rolling her eyes. "She doesn't hate you."

"Whatever. Just...go to bed. I need to talk to my partner," I stated, pointing toward the door. "He's obviously..._up_," I said sarcastically, groaning at her smirk.

Once Alice disappeared back into the other bedroom, I slammed open the door of Jasper's room. He jumped, pulling the sheets up around him.

"You want to get shot, asshole?" he growled, glaring at me.

I found the closest set of clothing I could, throwing it hard at his face. "You..." I pointed to him. "You have sixty seconds to get your ass dressed and in the living room, or I'm coming back up here and dragging your fucking naked ass down the stairs by your leg. Maybe your skull hitting each step on the way down will knock some motherfucking sense into it."

I didn't wait for him, but descended into the living room. I sat down hard on the sofa, fisting my hair. Glancing up when I heard his feet on the stairs, I narrowed my eyes at him. He'd pulled on a pair of jeans, and his hair was standing up in several directions, though his laid-back smirk made me want to punch the shit out of him.

"This is dangerous fucking game you're playing, Jazz," I seethed, glaring at him as he took the chair across from me.

"It's not a game, Ed."

"Oh, it's not? Tell me. What the hell is it, then?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow when he didn't answer right away. "To me, it looked like you just got laid. The witness you're supposed to be protecting just snuck out of your room."

He sneered at me. "This is more than that," he snapped. "She's more than just a quick fuck, Edward. I know what I'm doing. I'm all grown up, you know."

"I can't tell," I murmured, running a hand through my hair and along the back of my neck. "This...can't happen. I should call Al, have you replaced."

"What?!" he yelled, standing up, and suddenly, we were nose to nose.

"Keep your goddamn voice down, Jasper," I ordered. "I _should_ have you replaced. I can't trust you to make the right decisions anymore."

"Well, that's rich, Cullen," he said with a derisive chuckle. "Tell me... When was the last time you thought clearly when Bella was in the room?"

"This isn't about me," I deflected, hating the fact that he was right. "You..." I poked his chest. "You have clearly stepped over the line."

"Edward, stop. You can trust me on this," he suddenly said, his tone changing from angry to almost pleading. "You can't replace me. I can handle this. I swear."

My nostrils flared and my temples pounded, but I stopped and truly took in his expression. I didn't look at him like my partner but like the friend I'd had for four years. I shook my head and sighed in defeat. He was falling for Alice, and there was nothing stopping it. And if I had him replaced, he'd do his damnedest to kick my ass. He looked determined as hell, and I knew him well enough to know that he was a stubborn bastard, stubborn enough to play both sides of the fence – to...have his cake and protect it, too.

We stared each other down, and I could see fear clearly written all over him as he stood up to me. He knew with one phone call, I could have him out of this house and another marshal in his place within hours. Finally, I stepped back, gripping my hair.

"You keep your head on straight and in this for real, Jazz. I'm not kidding," I stated firmly. "And don't you two _dare_ rub this in Bella's face. I fucking mean that. She's got enough going on."

Jasper grimaced at the mention of Bella. For all his attraction to Alice, he truly liked her sister. "Does she know?"

"Dude, I'm pretty sure the neighbors know," I groaned, rolling my eyes as I fell back down onto the couch. Suddenly, I was exhausted. "And if you don't wear a T-shirt for your run tomorrow, the cougar will know, too." I gestured to his torso, where there were fingernail scratches in bright red.

He grinned once he'd taken a look at himself. That shit was filled with pride.

"Oh my God, get out of my face," I snorted, waving him away.

Before his foot hit the bottom step, he turned to me. "Edward...I can do this. But I can't walk away from her. You, of all people, should understand that," he explained cryptically.

I waved him on, not bothering to confirm nor deny anything. As I settled back to watch TV, I knew he was right. I could no more walk away from this detail than I could sever my own hand. Something about Bella kept me there, kept me on guard, and kept pulling me in...whether she hated me or not.

The next couple of days went just like that – my sleep was for shit on that couch, Alice and Jasper snuck around, and Bella continued to ignore me.

I snapped awake at an unusual sound in the room with me, and I opened my eyes to see the TV still on but Bella sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table with my laptop open. The bluish glow from both the computer and the television highlighted her face in an eerie glow, but what struck me were the shiny tracks of tears that I saw streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," she whispered, swiping at her face when I sat up.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, encouraged that she hadn't run from the room yet.

I glanced over her shoulder, seeing that she was looking through her collection of pictures again. The photo was of an elderly woman smiling as two little dark-haired girls stood with her in an older kitchen. All of them were covered in what looked like flour, with mixers, bowls, and stacks of cookies surrounding them. I tucked Bella's hair behind her ear so that I could see her face.

"My dad took that," she said softly. "It was Christmas...a long time ago." She snorted once, shaking her head. "Christmas in Florida...we wore shorts!"

I grinned but stayed quiet, keeping my eyes on her, not the picture.

"I miss them. I miss the simple times," she whispered.

Fuck, it was all I could do not to pull her into my lap. Instead, I slid my hand beneath her silky hair, massaging her neck gently.

"This shit won't last forever, Bella," I vowed to her. "It won't always be this hard."

She turned to look at me, her face filled with hurt and anger. "That's easy for you to say, Edward. When this is all over, you get to go back to all you knew before. You still have your family."

"So do you," I countered, shrugging a shoulder. "You just know them now under a new name, a fresh start. I kind of envy you that." When she looked at me like I was crazy, I smirked, rubbing her neck again. "There's something to be said for starting over, Bella, for being able to erase the past."

"I can't erase the truth in my head."

"Exactly," I agreed, pointing to the picture on the computer. "I bet you can remember this without the photographic proof...all the way down to what the house smelled like. Keep the good shit and let the bad shit fade away. I didn't know Marie Brandon all that well, but Bella Swan is pretty damn cool."

She sniffle-giggled but nodded, giving the computer one last glance before closing it. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"Trust me, I'm not cool. I'm a numbers nerd. But I'm sorry I woke you," she said again, glancing toward the stairs.

I snorted into a chuckle at the description of herself – there was not a single inch of her that was nerdy.

"Umm, they're not so subtle..." she muttered, glancing up at me with a wry smirk.

"No. No, they're not," I agreed with a wrinkle to my nose. "And you can wake me anytime. I'm sorry about the other day—"

"Don't be," she interrupted, starting to stand, and my hand felt the loss of her instantly. "I'm just...going crazy. That's all."

"No, you're not," I argued softly. "None of this is your fault, and you're not as alone as you think you are. Got me?" When she nodded and started to step away again, I grabbed her hand, biting back the shock of the zing that happened every time we touched. "I have to keep you safe. You understand that, right?"

"Yeah, it was dumb. I know, Edward," she said, almost whining, which I found to be utterly adorable, but before she could call me out on my asinine "horny locals" comment again, I interrupted her.

"Not dumb. I'd never accuse you of that. Just...bored stiff," I said with a snicker.

She grinned, and it was so beautiful, it took my breath away. "I guess." She reached up, lifting the hair at my temple and eyeing where I was pretty much healed from that goon on Long Island. "There may be a little scar, but you healed well," she said softly, tracing the mark left there.

Realizing that taking care of others was what Bella did to make herself feel...normal, I nodded, whispering, "Hard head."

She giggled, shooting me a very sexy smile before walking away. "Believe me, Edward, I know."

I feigned shock, but I couldn't fight the grin that curled my mouth when she chuckled going up the stairs. I also couldn't keep my eyes from her form for as long as it was in sight. Looking down at my hand that still tingled from touching her, I sighed at the sight of the ink on my arm. If anything could remind me that Bella had to stay safe, had to put Volturi away, it was the sight of the angel on my arm. I couldn't allow another _mafioso_ to create another headstone. I'd die before that ever fucking happened.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Oh, Edward... You stubborn, stubborn thing. LOL ;) And Jasper simply has no shame.**

**We need to thank everyone that has reviewed. We read them all, and some of you keep us in stitches with your comments, theories, and outrage. I also want to thank those that have rec'ing this fic. It gets back to me even if I don't see it, and that's just...a big deal. So thank you! :)**

**Be sure to check out our profile for a link to Jenny's site & my blog, where you'll find pictures for this chapter and others. We'll see you Wednesday for the teaser and then again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: No, your eyes aren't deceiving you! This is a REAL chapter, not just a teaser, on a Wednesday. We're doing this for a special reason (see Deb at the bottom. ;) ), but also because we're anxious to get this out to you. It's a big chapter. :) Thanks go out to mskathy for rushing to get chapter 9 done for Sunday so we can go ahead and post 8 today. ;)**

**Again, thank you SO much for the reviews! Even with the FFn fail, you guys were fantastic. :) If you missed the chapter last Sunday, go back and read it before you read this one. You need to!**

**One last quick note: I found it very amusing how many of you were pissed off at Alice & Jasper, yet were still saying Edward & Bella needed to get together pronto. *confused* Seriously, guys... Alice wasn't ignoring Bella on purpose. She has a right to be happy. If the roles were reversed, no one would have a problem. LOL So keep that in mind. ;) Now, enjoy the chapter, and again, see Deb at the bottom! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 8**

**Bella POV**

"Okay, so first things first," Edward said, "we need to chop the onion and green pepper."

I must have looked skeptical because he laughed and handed me the smaller of the two knives in front of him.

"Here. You take the green pepper. It'll be easier to do than the onion."

He showed me how to cut off the top and bottom, then said, "Now cut it into strips—" holding his fingers about a quarter inch apart "—and then cut those into small pieces. Any questions?"

"Nope. I can do this." I began cutting it into strips like he'd shown me, careful not to cut myself. "So this is your mom's recipe?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. She tweaked it some, but it's the one she learned from her mom, and it's the first thing besides breakfast she taught me to cook." Laughing, he sniffled back tears that were forming from cutting the onion. "It's one of the only things I can do well in the kitchen."

I snorted. "Like I said before, it's more than I can do."

We worked in companionable silence for several minutes as we listened to Jasper and Alice in the living room. She was trying to teach him some of the beginner yoga poses.

"Alice, there is no way on God's green earth I'm gonna be able to bend my body in that position, darlin'..."

"Just a little more, Jazzy. You can do it."

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Edward. "Jazzy?" I mouthed.

He chuckled. "Just wait'll I call him that..."

Barking out a laugh, I looked down again to finish the last of the green pepper.

"What's next, Chef?" I finally asked once the last piece was chopped, looking over to see that Edward had chopped up a mound of garlic, as well.

"Time for the meat," he said, pulling a plastic-wrapped package of ground beef out of the fridge.

As he cooked that up, breaking it up into little crumbles as it browned, I thought about what else I wanted to learn to cook.

"Do you know how to make French toast?" I asked suddenly.

"Mmhmm," he answered. "Peanut butter and banana stuffed."

Laughing, I shook my head. "Oooh, fancy!"

He grinned. "Certainly the most...upscale recipe I know. I made my mom teach me when I was like eleven because peanut butter and bananas were my favorite things at the time."

"On an Elvis kick, were you?"

I giggled uncontrollably when he curled his lip and did an Elvis-like swivel with his hips.

"Oh yeah, baby. It was all Elvis, all the time for pre-teen Edward." Rolling his eyes, he chuckled. "Nah, it was more like a favorite character on some cartoon I was watching liked the combination and I had to have it."

We continued trading stories back and forth as he showed me how to finish the sauce, sautéing up the veggies we'd chopped, adding white wine, tomatoes in various forms, and a whole bunch of seasonings he had me measure out.

And then he pulled out what he called his mom's "secret ingredient."

"A jar of pre-made spaghetti sauce?" My eyes widened and I gasped dramatically. "Whatever would Mario Batali say?"

Edward chuckled and poured in half the jar. "My mom claims it adds just another layer, another dimension to the sauce...and I've learned never to argue with my mama."

"Whatever Mama Cullen says goes," I agreed, taking a big whiff of the sauce that was now bubbling in the pot.

He directed me to pour in the browned meat, and then he added in some bay leaves and said, "And _voila!_ It has to simmer now for an hour, and then we'll cook the pasta and be ready to eat."

"It smells absolutely delicious," I told him truthfully. "Thanks for teaching me." Grinning, I couldn't help but add, "You _are_ gonna write it all down for me, right?"

Nodding, he chuckled. "Now come on... Let's go watch Alice try to get Jasper into the downward facing dog position."

~oOo~

"Hey, Bella," Alice called from the kitchen table. "Grab me another soda before you come in, wouldja?"

"Okay," I answered before sticking my head back in the fridge. When I popped back out, I was surprised to find Edward standing there, holding his hand out. I squeaked and held my hand to my chest. "You scared me!"

He chuckled. "Sorry. I came in to get the ranch dressing for Jasper and another Coke for myself." Grimacing, he continued, "Why he wants to add that stuff to my mama's spaghetti, I'll never understand."

Giggling, I handed him the two Cokes and reached back into the fridge for one more and the salad dressing. "I don't know. It's perfect without it."

"Damn straight," he agreed with a nod and a wink.

I was so glad things were more relaxed than they had been. For several weeks, ever since our almost-kiss – which still made my insides flutter when I thought about it – things had been tense. We'd avoided each other as much as possible, especially after he'd yelled at me about talking to the little boy and his father in the house across the backyard from us.

About a week ago, things had evened out again. Alice was making more of an effort to spend time with me – we'd begun to do yoga again, which we hadn't done since Southampton, and we had started talking about what we wanted to do after the trial. Alice had been thrilled when the guys had told her she could continue being a dance teacher if she wanted. It wasn't a high-profile field that required specialized training that she could be tracked through.

As for me, I was leaning toward a freelance bookkeeping or accounting – I hadn't been kidding when I'd told Edward I was a numbers nerd. They had just always made sense to me, and I'd done my grandmother's taxes once my parents died and we'd moved in with her. I didn't want to go back to work at an accounting firm – that was too close for comfort – but that same type of work would be good. Freelance would be ideal, but if I couldn't get freelance work, Edward had said he believed finding work as a bookkeeper for a small, privately owned company would be okay with the DOJ.

Sliding into my chair at the table, I passed Jasper the ranch dressing as Edward passed Alice's drink across the table to her.

"Okay, so what movie is it tonight?" Jasper drawled as he drizzled the creamy white dressing around in a spiral over his plate of spaghetti with meat sauce.

"_Breakfast Club,_" Alice and I both gushed immediately, giggling. We'd seen it in the DVD cabinet earlier in the afternoon and decided it had been too long since we'd watched it.

Edward huffed. "Come on, ladies... Let's at least watch _Fight Club._ That's in there, too...and it's got Brad Pitt."

"Mmm, yeah...but no," Alice told him, shaking her head.

Conversation continued around the table, as Edward and Jasper compared the latest notes on the cougar neighbor and Alice and I talked about needing to get a haircut and how that would work.

Once we were all finished eating, Jasper volunteered to do dishes, although Edward had cleaned a lot as he went so there wasn't much left to do, while Edward cued up the movie and Alice and I changed into PJs.

"Should I wear these?" Alice asked with a giggle once we were looking through our clothes.

I glanced over and saw that she was holding up a pair of silky tap pants and a camisole. We'd been going crazy over a lack of clothes, so Angela had gone shopping for all of us, including the guys, and had secreted away to mail them to us a few days ago. Most were practical – more jeans and T-shirts, shorts, cotton panties and bras, and a few pairs of yoga pants – but she'd also included some tighter shirts, a few short skirts, and some racier undergarments, including the ones Alice was currently holding up.

"Lord no," I finally answered with a laugh. "Save that for Jasper," I told her with a raised eyebrow.

She had the grace to blush and nod before tossing them back in the drawer and then grabbing something similar to what I had in my hand: loose-fitting yoga pants and a tank.

I changed quickly, eager to get back to the movie...and Edward, if I were being honest with myself. Just as I finished pulling the tank over my head, I heard the sound of glass shattering and then the thud of feet pounding up the stairs and down the hall.

Then all hell broke loose, and gunfire opening up downstairs rang through the entire house.

Jasper appeared in the doorway, eyes wide, and said, "Down the stairs and to the garage, _now!_ In the van, floor of the back seat. Don't come out unless one of us tells you. _Go now!_"

~oooOOOooo~

Edward POV

"At least it's _Breakfast Club_ and not like..._Pretty in Pink_ or some shit. You gotta love John Bender," Jasper stated with a shrug as he pulled the movie out of its case.

Grinning, I shook my head, listening to the girls giggle upstairs. "Technically, John Bender was a delinquent ass that sold weed, contributed to underage drinking, and was a manwhore."

"So he was like you in high school," Jasper surmised with an almost sing-song tone.

I threw a pillow at his face. "Fuck you," was all I said. "I never sold weed."

That only made Jasper laugh harder.

He slid the DVD into the player, and I grabbed the remote to change the channel. I could hear the girls still thumping around upstairs, when the sound of shattering glass met my ears. Jasper and I locked gazes for a split second before a stench met our noses that we'd recognize anywhere.

Smoke bomb.

"Fuck," I growled, pointing to the stairs. "Get up to them, send them straight to the garage, but check the windows for how many we got!"

Jasper ran up the stairs taking three steps at a time, and I took a deep breath before running into the kitchen at a crouch. The canister had come through the deck window, filling the dining area with a yellowish smoke. I kicked it hard, sending it down the small hallway out of the way, but suddenly, bullets shattered every window along the back. Diving behind the counter, I flinched as everything in that kitchen was shredded – refrigerator, microwave, stove...even the coffee pot exploded into leftover coffee and shards of glass everywhere.

I needed the goddamn phone, laptop, and my gun, which was on the side table right along the wall. Crawling a little, I reached out, grabbing all of it and spinning to head back to the living room. Once clear of the kitchen windows, I stood up, hearing Jasper yelling for the girls to get down the stairs and into the garage.

"Jasper!" I yelled, holding my hand out for the scared girls, but they seemed to be holding up so far. "Let's go!"

Shots rang out from upstairs, followed by Jasper's rumbling down the steps. I stopped them all behind the safety of the stairwell wall, handing Alice the laptop, which she tucked under her arm with their WitSec file. Raking my eyes over the two of them, I saw that Bella had her gun in hand, as well. Smart girls. However, the main problem was that neither had socks nor shoes on, and both were wearing only pajamas.

"Guys, I need you in the van, between the two back seats, on the floor. Got me?" I ordered, and they nodded fervently.

The wall beside my shoulder exploded, and I ducked back just long enough to ready my weapon, spin around the edge, and shoot. The grunt and thump to the floor let me know I'd succeeded in taking at least one asshole out. It was hard to tell with all the smoke that still clung to the air in the kitchen area.

"Ready?" I asked, locking gazes with Jasper for a second. "We've got to get to the garage."

Bella's eyes widened, but her sight wasn't on me; it was behind me as the front door burst open. "Edward, get down!" she yelled and brought up that nine millimeter at the same time Jasper raised his own gun.

I fell to my knees as several shots riddled the poor son of a bitch at the door. He never truly even had time to aim his gun, and he was dead before he fell back out the door.

"Fuck, that's it! Jasper...garage. Now!" I growled, standing up and wrapping an arm around both girls.

Dodging furniture and broken glass as best I could because the girls were barefoot, I slammed open the garage door.

"Go, go, go!" I ordered, and Jasper moved to the driver's seat.

Bella tugged open the side door of the van, crawling inside with Alice right behind her. I dove into the passenger seat as Jasper started up the van, glancing up when someone stepped into the garage door from the house. He was a tall bastard, obviously of Italian descent, with long, wavy hair straight out of some romance novel cover. I had no choice but to break the window beside me, aim, and shoot, causing him to dive back inside the house.

"Hold on!" Jasper yelled. "No time for garage door openers."

He reached up, pulled the gear shifter hard into reverse, and floored it. The tires squealed and the scent of burning rubber met my nose, but it was the sound and feel of the garage door's destruction that made the girls scream in surprise.

"Girls, stay down," I ordered, holding onto the dashboard as Jasper revved out of the driveway, shifted into drive, and tore down the street. The guy from the garage ran after us, and from the side-view mirror, I saw him get into a dark sedan.

"We got company," I muttered, crawling over the console and the two sets of back seats to the small open space at the back of the van. I was just about to break the back window, but the job was done for me. "Stupid motherfuckers," I snapped, ducking down until the shots let up. "Alice! Bella! I know you're scared, but I need your help." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the phone, tossing it down to the floor between them. "Just hit send."

Ducking down when our pursuers opened fire on my ass again, I held onto the sides, bracing myself as Jasper took a sharp turn.

"Al... No, not Edward. It's Alice," I heard behind me. "We've been found... Yes, again!" She paused for a moment but then said, "No, the boys are fine, just...busy."

Bending down low enough, I could see Alice on the phone and Bella crouched down, but her nine millimeter was in her hand.

"Bella, honey, I need that gun," I told her, and her head spun my way. She immediately slid it back to me. "How many rounds you got left?"

"Umm, eight or nine?" she guessed. "It was full before the guy at the door, and I shot three times, I think."

"You did awesome, Bella," I told her. "You stay down. We won't let them touch you. Okay?"

She swallowed nervously, but nodded quickly.

I popped up into the back window, pulling the triggers on both guns, and noticed we had more company. "Two on our six, Jazz!"

"Al said to head to the Army National Guard!" Alice yelled. "They'll be waiting for you."

"Got it," Jasper grunted, weaving through a residential neighborhood and dodging around cars parked along the street. They whizzed by in blurs of black and gray. "Ed, I'm turning; aim for tires, man! Tell me when."

"Yeah," I acknowledged, aiming out the back and bracing my foot on the side of the van. "Turn...now, now!"

The van jerked to the right, but it gave me a perfect shot for the second car behind us. Aiming, I pulled the trigger once, twice, and the third time caught the front wheel, sending the dark sedan into a tailspin. I couldn't help but grin when it not only spun wildly out of control, but suddenly flipped, rolled, and exploded into a bright orange glow right in the middle of an intersection.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Jasper cheered with a chuckle. "Everyone, hold on..."

I glanced behind us as Jasper made another sharp turn and then another.

"Shit!" I hissed, looking up at him. "They're still comin'."

"Dammit, Edward!" Jasper groaned, sounding frustrated as all hell.

"You think you'd do better? They're still fucking comin'. I don't know what to tell you," I snapped.

Bullets pummeled the back of the van. One even flew through the shattered window, ripping the two back seats.

"And I need your fucking gun! Mine's empty," I yelled up to him.

Jasper awkwardly tossed it toward the girls, and one of them slid it back to me.

"Girls, you okay?" I asked, popping up to send off three shots out the back.

"Yes!" they both replied.

"Edward, Al wants to know where you are," Alice piped up.

"I don't fucking know! Jazz?"

"We're about fifteen miles from the base. But we gotta lose this asshole on our tail first," Jasper answered, and Alice relayed it back to my uncle.

I glanced up through the windshield to see an open stretch of road in front of us, and the car behind us decided to make its move. The sedan revved up beside us, opening fire, and I ducked down.

"Fuck, they're gonna hit our tank," Jasper growled, jerking the wheel hard enough to send the sedan into the other lane. Unfortunately, there wasn't any oncoming traffic to force him into.

The car slowed down, swerving back behind us, and I aimed again. I shot toward the windshield, giving myself enough leeway time-wise to aim for the engine of the car.

Shot one, the radiator spewed steam, but they kept coming. I fired off round after round, dumping my weapon and snatching up Bella's. The right headlight, then the left, and again, the windshield – I kept firing as they tried to sway back and forth to dodge my bullets. I ducked down as they fired back, popping out the nine mil's clip to see how many shots I had left. Four.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Jasper, on my word, I need you to slam on the brakes for me."

"Yup," he responded.

I straightened up in the window, locking my sights on the center of the hood. "Now!"

The van practically stood on its nose as he slammed hard on the brakes, but the driver behind us wasn't expecting it, so he zoomed up into my vision. I emptied that nine millimeter into the engine, smiling when the motherfucker finally burst into flames, the car dead where it drifted to a stop.

I collapsed back for a moment, catching my breath. "Got 'em."

"Thank fuck!" Jasper said, turning back to glance over his shoulder quickly. "Alice, Bella...okay?"

I crawled over the first seat, taking a glance down at the girls. Alice was still holding the phone up to her ear, Bella gazed up at me, her face almost impassive. I knew that fucking look. She was barely hanging in there.

"I know it's cramped, guys. You can come up when we hit the base, okay?" I asked, trying to calm the fuck down, but it was nearly impossible because my adrenaline was skyrocketing.

"Al wants you," Alice muttered, handing over the phone.

I put it to my ear, deciding to stay in the back with the girls as Jasper navigated his way toward the Army Reserve base.

"Al..." I panted.

"Son, you okay?"

"Yeah, just fucking...peachy," I snarked back. "We left a helluva mess, Uncle Al."

"I don't give a shit about that. Did you fucking get them? Are the girls all right?"

Grinning, I sighed. "Yeah. You'll need a cleanup crew at the safe house. We had to leave everything, and it was a full-out assault. If I had to guess, there were about five guys, two of which are dead at the house, two cars, which we left along the way, and I swear to God, I think the last asshole chasing us was Demetri Polizzi. I recognized his face from the case file you gave me."

"Caius's muscle?"

"I think so, but don't quote me on that. He's a bigger asshat in person," I told him.

"Are you at the base yet?"

I glanced out the windshield. "Almost."

He sighed deeply. "Okay, this is what'll happen. You'll tell them my name. They're going to secure you a chopper ride to Mitchell Air Force Base just outside of Queens. When you get there, we'll settle on a new safe house."

"No!" I snapped. "I'm fucking done. I'm pulling us off the grid. We're going underground. I'm dumping this phone, and I need us on a plane. ASAP! I'm getting these girls away from this shit. The next time, it may not be five men, but fucking ten."

"Edward..."

"Wait," I ordered when Jasper pulled up to the guard gate.

"Alistair Chambers should've called," Jasper stated.

The guard nodded, glancing into the van, and said, "Follow the road around to the first hangar. They're fueled up and ready for you."

The poor bullet-riddled van rattled and shook all the way up to the hangar. Soldiers armed with high-powered rifles stood guard on either side of a very large helicopter.

"Girls, you can sit up," I said softly, helping both of them into the seat next to me. "Al, we're on the base."

"I need to know where you're going. Just me, Edward. Tell me. You obviously have a plan," he urged.

I looked to Bella, forcing her gaze up to me. "Do you trust me?" I asked her.

She nodded vehemently. "Yeah. Of course."

I looked to Alice, who was nodding as she gazed out toward the chopper that was already starting up.

"Off the grid, Uncle Al. No one can know, and this phone is as good as dead as soon as we hang up. You'll be my only contact. Got me?"

Jasper jerked the van to a stop, slamming the gear shift into park and spinning around to face me. Even he was waiting for the next step.

"I'm taking them..._home_," I said cryptically.

Al was silent for a moment and then muttered simply, "Huh... Yeah. That works. You sure?"

"Absolutely." I slid open the van door, stepping out onto the tarmac.

Al was quiet again. "Call me on a new phone when you land."

"Will do. And Al? Find out how they fucking found us."

With that said, the call ended, and I snapped the phone closed.

A tall soldier met me at the side of the van, giving it a long, slow gaze. "Rough night?" Belmont, according to his name patch, asked, smirking a little when his gaze met mine.

"Same ole, same ole," Jasper snorted, rolling his eyes.

Belmont grinned. "Yeah, Chambers called us in a fucking panic. You must be the U.S. Marshals we're giving a ride. We're to get you to Mitchel Air Force Base, so let's get you loaded up."

I held up the cell phone. "Got a place this can disappear?" I asked him.

Belmont glanced around, his eyes landing on a steel grate. "Huh, well, would you lookie there..." he murmured, reaching down to jerk the grate up.

I tossed it in, hearing the satisfying plunk of the phone hitting water. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now...let's get you in the air."

~oOo~

The chopper ride from Connecticut wasn't that long. We flew over the city, landing a little bit away from another hangar on Mitchel Air Force Base. The girls stayed pretty quiet the whole way, holding on to the few things they had, consisting of my laptop, which Bella now carried, and their new lives, which were tucked away in a simple manila envelope that Alice was hanging onto for dear life.

We were met by two soldiers – a male, Iverson, and a female, Davies. The guy offered his hand out to me and Jasper, his eyes raking over the girls.

"U.S. Marshals, right?" Iverson asked, and I was grateful Al hadn't mentioned our names so far.

"Yes, sir," I greeted with a nod and a firm handshake.

"Good," he grunted, pointing to what looked like a private jet pulling out of the hangar. "We're fueling her up now."

My eyebrows shot up at the fact that we wouldn't be taking a military transport. When I glanced back to Iverson, he just smirked.

"Some...higher-ups like to ride in style," he said with a chuckle. "Where we headed?"

"I need to get to Mountain Home Air Force Base," I stated. "But I can't have a public flight plan."

"Copy that," he grunted, and he turned to Davies. "Lieutenant, see if you can't find these girls something to wear. It's gonna be a long flight."

She smiled warmly at the girls, giving them the once-over. "I'm sure I can find something. Get them on board. I'll double-time it back."

There was a part of me that suspected the two soldiers knew who we were and why we were there. Uncle Al had contacts everywhere from years of working all over the United States and Canada. He'd handled everything from high-profile prisoner transfers, to fugitive hunts, to his own WitSec details. He'd been stationed in several states, working up the ranks to earn the position he now held.

Iverson eyed the plane, turning back to us once some steps had been rolled up to the door. "Come on. We'll get you on board."

As we made our way across the tarmac, the sound of bare feet slapping softly onto the concrete made me cringe. Alice was holding her own, and I assumed that was years of dancing because she'd said more than once that her feet were tough as nails. But it was all I could do not snatch Bella up and carry her the rest of the way, especially when I saw her wince as she stepped on some loose gravel and whatever other shit happened to be in our path.

Leaning down, I whispered to Bella, "Hanging in there?"

She nodded but stayed quiet, and I reached down to take the laptop from her, tucking it under my arm. My other free hand guided her up the steps.

The inside of the plane looked like something out of a goddamn movie, and I rolled my eyes at Jasper's muttered, "Is this where my taxes are going?"

"Shut the fuck up," I hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.

"I know, I know... Free ride," he conceded with a chuckle.

Iverson showed us around the plane – a seating area, bathroom, and even a couple of small bedrooms in the back. "There's a fridge," he said, gesturing to a mini-fridge just to the right of the cockpit doors. "It isn't much – some drinks, maybe a few snacks. Considering the time and the fact that those girls look dead on their feet, I figure you guys'll sleep through the next several hours."

"Thanks," I sighed, shaking his hand again. "I know this is some strange shit..."

"Hey," he said with a shrug. "When you work for Uncle Sam, you know when not to ask questions."

"Truth," Jasper agreed from across the plane.

Lt. Davies stepped up onto the plane, her arms filled with what looked like sweats, but sitting on top were two pairs of sneakers.

Bella and Alice gazed at her when she knelt in front of them.

"Ladies, I was able to find a couple of pairs of sweats and a shirt or two. I just hope the shoes fit," she told them kindly.

"Thank you," the girls said at the same time.

"You two can clean up a bit and change once we level out, okay?" Iverson asked. "Hell, if I were you, I'd make the men stay up here and you two take the bedrooms. It should be smooth sailing the whole way. It'll rock you straight to sleep."

Alice grinned, and even Bella cracked a small smile when she said, "Okay."

"Okay," he said, turning to Jasper and me. "Strap in. We'll be pulling out in about five minutes."

Both Davies and Iverson started to ready the plane. The steps were pulled away as all four of us buckled our seat belts. The girls stayed sitting together on the right side of the plane, and Jasper took a seat next to me.

He nudged me with his elbow. "Where the fuck are we going, Ed?"

I shook my head. "Not here..."

"We can't take them to Seattle yet. It'll blow that whole WitSec packet."

I looked him straight in the eye as the plane started to pick up speed. "Trust me. It's not Seattle. But until it's just the four of us in a car, I'm keeping it quiet."

Jasper studied my face, his brow furrowing. "Okay," he said with a nod. "Fair enough, man."

Iverson eventually called that it was safe to move around, and the girls got up, taking their clothes with them. I took my seat belt off and opened the fridge. I found a few Cokes, a couple of candy bars, and a very, very tempting small bottle of Jack Daniels. With a sigh, I ignored it, grabbing a Coke for Jasper, too.

I handed over what I'd found and paced up and down the aisle as I gobbled up the Snickers bar. I took a long drink of soda, glancing up when Alice made her way back, only this time taking the seat next to Jasper.

"Seat stealer," I accused teasingly.

"Sue me," she chirped, shrugging one shoulder.

Lt. Davies had done really well, it seemed. Alice was wearing gray Air Force sweatpants and a hoodie. Her feet were now covered in simple white sneakers.

I looked toward the back of the plane. "Where's Bella?"

"She was cleaning up in the bathroom. She found some tweezers and was getting a splinter of glass out of her foot," Alice explained.

When another five minutes passed and then ten more with no sign of Bella, my pacing hadn't stopped because something just felt...off, and I finally couldn't take it anymore.

Passing the first bedroom and the bathroom – both empty – I stopped in front of the last room. The door was cracked, and I half-expected to see her curled up on the bed, but she wasn't. She was dressed in navy blue Air Force sweats just like her sister, though she hadn't put her sneakers on yet. She was sitting on the bed, her legs bent up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them.

I knocked lightly. "You okay? I thought I'd better warn you that Jasper is threatening to eat all the Snickers bars."

Her eyes looked dark and haunted, but they filled quickly with tears. "I... Edward, I killed a man today..."

I closed the door and locked it, sitting beside her on the bed. "I know, Bella. It's not something that's easily gotten over. You were amazing, though. You did nothing wrong and everything right. I promise."

"I didn't have a choice, right?" she said, sounding just a touch hysterical.

"No, ma'am."

"In New York, I didn't see the guy. But this time, I saw his face, Edward! I watched him die...because of me. You..." She pointed to me as her voice broke. "You said next time to shoot to kill. And I did." She swiped at her face and then tucked her hair behind her ears. "He was going to kill you! I saw him coming, and he was already aiming and...and..."

Fuck, I couldn't stop myself if I tried. Reaching over, I pulled her to my lap and wrapped her up as tightly as I could without hurting her. She looked lost and broken but a little proud of herself at the same time. And in those too-big sweats, she looked young and scared and, despite the tears, so very beautiful.

"It's okay, it's okay," I chanted over and over.

She clung to me, her hands gripping my T-shirt in the back, but her entire body shook against me. She buried her face into my shoulder as I rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Gently pulling on her, I cupped both sides of her face to make her look me in the eye. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for...fucking _nothing_, Bella."

She sniffled a little, but her eyes slipped away from mine.

"Look at me," I ordered her. Once her eyes were back to mine, I said, "Since the beginning of this thing... Nothing. Is. Your. Fault. Got me? Not a single bit of it."

"I know."

"Do you?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," I breathed, trying my damnedest not to focus on what it felt like to have every inch of her pressed against me, the feel of her hair slipping between my fingers as I tried to calm her down, or the amazing way she smelled, despite all that we'd been through tonight. Instead, I focused on how in awe I was of her. "You went on gut instinct, Bella. We all have it. I would've done the exact same fucking thing."

She whimpered a little, shaking her head, but instead of arguing with me, she simply said, "I couldn't... I couldn't let him hurt you. They've hurt so many already...but not you."

I smiled. "I probably owe you a big thank you, then. Huh? Yet, you took my job away from me tonight. I'm feeling a little emasculated."

The sound that escaped her was an utterly adorable mixture of a giggle and a sniffle.

"Really?" she asked.

Snorting softly, I shook my head no. "Nah, but thank you."

She looked down at her hands, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "I'm scared, Edward."

"Of what?"

"Everything." She shrugged a shoulder. "Of making it to the trial, of testifying, of moving, of being someone new, starting all over with friends, jobs, just...living. All of it."

"I told you before, you're not alone. And you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, not to mention smart, caring, and...Christ, so beautiful..."

Her dark eyes snapped up to meet my gaze. Reaching up, I wiped away a tear that slipped down her face. It didn't even occur to me to set her back down on the bed. We'd been here before, this pull, this draw, only this time, no one was interrupting. And as I watched her tongue drag slowly across her plump bottom lip, I realized I didn't want an interruption.

We locked gazes for a split second, almost as if we were asking permission, but then our lips met. Her lips were so soft, pliant, and they moved with mine in perfect sync – top lip, bottom lip, top lip again. A hint of tongue escaped us at the same time, causing a gasp from Bella and a moan from me. The feel of her hands along my jaw gave me all the encouragement I needed. Threading my hand into her hair, I turned her head and really kissed her. I claimed, tasted, and swirled my tongue along hers. It had been so fucking long since I'd truly kissed a girl like that – kissed them because I just really wanted to, like I couldn't take another breath without it, like I couldn't stop. And I couldn't stop... At all.

The need to be closer was strong, but the reality of where we were was stronger. We were in a bed, but with four other people on a plane. We'd just barely gotten out of this last bullshit intact. But fuck, if she didn't feel and taste and sound amazing – better than any dream I'd had of her as of late. Her hair was silky in my hand, her skin smelled like soap, just clean and sweet, and the taste of her was rocking me to my soul – salty from her tears but _more_.

Panting, I pulled away, pressing my forehead to hers and squeezing my eyes closed. My hands were still in her hair and holding her hip. I wanted more...so much fucking more, but that kiss was leaving me feeling naked and bare, exposed. I didn't know what I was thinking – if I was thinking at all. I'd accused Jasper of playing a dangerous fucking game with Alice, and I now knew I wasn't any better. My sole priority was starting to become more than just getting to a trial or back to Seattle. The mere idea of anything or anyone getting to the girl in my arms made me almost fucking shake with pure, unadulterated anger. And I didn't know what that meant, either.

"Is that...chocolate?" she asked, licking her lips.

I grinned, a chuckle escaping me. "I told you there were Snickers."

She snorted, slipping off my lap and reaching for a balled-up pair of socks. "I'll be out in a few. I just... I need a moment." Her eyes gazed up at me, still looking a little freaked out, but at least they were a touch calmer.

I nodded in understanding. "You should try to get some sleep, Bella. We'll be in the air for a few hours."

"Okay. We'll see." Nodding, she she shrugged once.

She gazed up at me, her eyes warm, still a little red, but her lips were swollen and looking a little bruised. Something about that last thing made my dick twitch because I'd made them that way. My hand gripped my leg in order to not crawl over to her and see just how bruised I could really make them.

"Edward, where are we going now?" she asked softly, turning on the bed to face away from me.

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." I stood up, suddenly feeling awkward about leaving her, but I'd just crossed a pretty big line, and I knew we both needed a little space. Reaching for the door knob, I stopped. "Thanks again. For having my back, I mean."

"I..." She sighed. "You're welcome."

I tugged the door closed behind me and leaned back against it, wanting to bang my head repeatedly. And hard. I'd just kissed her. I wasn't sure what it meant, but I also was pretty fucking sure I didn't regret it.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Oh ho! You guys have been asking for a kiss. Something...ANYTHING! LOL There you go. Any guesses as to where Edward's taking them? ;)**

**We want to thank the ladies over at The Lemonade Stand for nominating _In Pursuit_ for Fic of the Week. They've always been really good to us. Please, PLEASE go over there and vote: www. tehlemonadestand. net (You can find a link on our profile if that doesn't show up.**

**Okay, so this was a bonus chapter for you guys as a great big THANK YOU! We won't always be able to double post, so take it as a gift and a big smooch. And before you ask... YES, _IP_ will still update on Sunday with chapter 9. :) So until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N #1: We did it! Thanks to all of our great readers, In Pursuit won the Fic of the Week on The Lemondate Stand. We'll let you know when the review goes up! Thanks again for all the support – the votes, the reviews on here & on our Facebook page... We love you guys!**

**Someone mentioned maybe the group was going to Edward's birth parents' house. Just in case you didn't understand: Esme IS Edward's birth mother. Carlisle is his adopted father, but Esme's his birth mother. :)**

**Keep in mind, we're taking a lot of liberties with the use of military bases & planes, etc. But it's fiction, so just sit back & enjoy the ride. ;) – Jenny**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 9**

**Bella POV**

I had great timing, because just after I walked out from the bedroom to the cabin of the plane, the pilot announced we were five minutes from landing and needed to buckle our seat belts. Covering a yawn with the back of my hand, I slid down beside Edward, since Alice was sitting beside Jasper.

"Sleep okay?" he murmured, handing me the belt to strap on.

"Yeah, thanks." I smiled and then looked away shyly.

It was hard to look at him and not remember that just hours before, I'd been in his lap, and he'd been kissing me – no, that wasn't quite right. We'd been kissing each other. I'd been just as much a participant as Edward. His lips had been firm against mine as he'd used his tongue to draw out my pleasure. His hands had been commanding, holding me to him and moving me just where he wanted me. And fuck... I'd never be able to forget the part of him pressed up against where I'd been suddenly aching the most. It had been the first time since that Friday night that I'd felt anything more than a simple spark of attraction. My sex drive had been almost non-existent since Eleazar's murder, and with one simple kiss, it had come roaring back in an instant.

But now wasn't the time – and unfortunately, I wasn't sure it would ever be the time for Edward and me.

I was quiet as the plane landed with a relatively small jolt and finally slowed to a stop.

"We're going to find a phone and call Al," Edward said just loud enough for the others to hear, too. "Stay with us, try to keep your heads down – the less people who see your face for now, the better – and we'll be on our way as soon as possible, okay?"

Alice and I nodded as the plane door was pulled open and the two pilots emerged from the front of the plane.

"Lieutenant Davies is going to secure a car since we're about forty-five minutes from the nearest city," Iverson said as he moved to stand in front of Edward.

Edward nodded. "Great, thanks. I need to find a phone. Got a secure line I can use?"

Iverson nodded. "I'll find you something," he said. "Anything else?"

Shaking his head this time, Edward answered, "Not at the moment, thanks."

Edward followed Iverson off the plane, and then Jasper motioned for us to go ahead of him.

"I'll stay behind you," he said, urging us forward to the steps.

Once on the tarmac, Iverson led us to a large Jeep parked to the side. "I radioed ahead and asked that they leave this for us. This'll take us over to the offices, where we can find you a phone. We'll meet Davies there."

Edward nodded and slid into the front seat beside him, while the rest of us climbed into the back.

At the building, we were ushered into an office, where Iverson flipped on a light and pulled the phone across the desk. "I think this should be fine," he said, moving back to the door. "I'll be outside if you need anything."

"Thanks, Captain," Edward said, dismissing him.

Edward picked up the phone and dialed a string of numbers, promptly putting it on speaker.

"Ed?"

"Hey, Al," he said. "I've got you here with Jasper and the girls."

"Good, good. You made it safely to Idaho, then?"

Raising an eyebrow, Edward nodded slowly and said, "Mmhmm. How'd you know?"

Al chuckled once. "I'm a brilliant man, Edward Cullen. You should know that by now."

Edward rolled his eyes at Jasper's grin.

"No, it was process of elimination. I figured you'd want close, but not too close, which left me with a couple of choices, and this seemed like the best bet. Although, I did make arrangements several places in case I was wrong."

"All right, well, what's the plan?"

"Get Tim—"

"Tim?" Edward interrupted.

"Iverson," Al explained. "Get Tim to drive you to Boise. Head to the airport there. I reserved a car for you." Before Edward could ask where, Al continued. "Your partner will remember it fondly."

Jasper grinned, tipping an imaginary hat in Edward's direction.

"Got it," he said to the phone.

"Do the same thing about halfway to your destination. Switch vehicles. That should get you back safely."

Edward nodded once. "You can't by any chance conjure up some ammo, can you? We had to leave all our spare clips at the house."

"It's already arranged. Check with Tim."

Looking curious now, Edward nodded once and then glared back at the phone. "Found out yet how they found us?"

"Working on it," Al answered, his voice hard. "I _will_ find out, Edward. You have my word."

They said a few more things back and forth before Edward hung up the phone. "All right," he said, turning to us. "Let's see if _Tim_ can make good on Al's promises."

As soon as we walked out the door of the office, Iverson stood from his position across the room and met us halfway.

"Davies is back with the car."

"And the ammo?"

He handed Edward a small bag. "Chambers said to get you what I could and you'd handle the rest later. Nine mil, right?" At Edward's nod, he continued, "Six full clips here and the address of someplace you can get more when you change cars, according to him."

"How—" Edward started, but Iverson interrupted.

"I'll explain in the car."

Still looking suspiciously at Iverson, Edward and Jasper led us out the door and directly to a small two-door coupe.

"It'll be a tight fit," Iverson said, "but this'll get us to Boise."

Jasper climbed into the back seat first, folding his lanky frame behind the driver's seat. Alice went next, sitting on the middle hump, leaving me behind Edward, who followed and slid into the front passenger's seat. Lt. Davies smiled at me through the window, giving me a thumbs up, as Iverson started the car and headed toward the gate.

Once we were on the road leading away from the base, Edward turned slightly in his seat, tossing two clips of ammunition to Jasper, and they both slid a clip into place before tucking the second into their pockets. Then he turned back to our driver and raised an eyebrow.

"Want to explain more now?"

Iverson chuckled. "My dad was a marshal for thirty years. He was Al's training officer when he first joined up. I've known him for most of my life, although we haven't spoken in a few years – since the last time he was over on the East Coast, in fact.

"He called earlier, knowing I was still stationed at the base there, and said he needed help, no questions asked. Told me what he needed, said he had an idea of where you'd send me and asked that I give you that info along with the ammo he was sure you'd need. Then he called my General, an old friend of his, who called the General here, and they paved the way for everything. The plane, the car, the phone, and the ammo."

Edward relaxed back against the seat slightly. "Damn... The old man was one step ahead of me the whole time." He grinned. "Sly bastard."

Iverson laughed. "Yeah, that's Al."

I stared out at the passing scenery – although I couldn't see much since it was just after eleven o'clock – as we drove. Edward and Iverson traded stories back and forth about Al while Jasper and Alice talked quietly.

In what seemed like no time at all, Iverson pulled up to the curb at the Boise airport. Edward climbed out first, and when he gave the all-clear, the rest of us followed, leaving Iverson alone in the small vehicle.

Leaning down, Edward said, "Thanks, man. We owe you one."

Iverson waved him off. "No worries. Just keep 'em safe. I dunno what's going on – and I don't wanna know – but I know it's important if Al called me. Good luck."

Edward closed the car door and stood, patting the top of the car as it sped off into the night.

"Okay, you guys stay here with Jasper. I'll go in and get the keys, and then we'll get out of here."

Once Edward disappeared through the doors, I turned to Jasper. "Where's he going? What did Al mean...you would remember it fondly?"

Jasper grinned, and when he spoke, his drawl was out in full force. "Why, ma'am, don'tcha know? He's headin' for the Alamo..."

Alice and I laughed until there were tears in our eyes.

It only took Edward ten minutes to get in and come back out with the keys, leading us to a lot off to the side. When he pushed the button on the keychain, the lights on a gray Chevy Malibu flashed and the horn beeped. I'd seen the way Alice had been glued to Jasper's side, so I motioned for Jasper to get in beside her. He smiled and winked, holding the front passenger door for me before climbing into the back beside Alice.

We'd been in the car for ten minutes before Alice leaned forward between the seats and spoke, asking the question I'd been wondering since we'd gotten on the plane.

"So where in the world are we going?"

"Forks," Jasper answered before Edward could. "Right?"

"What the blue hell is Forks?" she asked. "Is it next to Spoons?"

Raising an eyebrow, I asked Edward, "Isn't that where you grew up?"

He slowly nodded, looking over at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. "Angela?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I asked her to tell me a little about the two of you while we were waiting for you to get to the motel that night."

He nodded again. "Forks is a little town about three hours from Seattle. Like Bella said, that's where I grew up. My parents still own their house there. They wanted to keep it in case my sister or I wanted or needed a place to stay, and lucky for us, they kept it furnished in case they decided to rent it out."

"How far is it from here?" I asked, wondering how long we were going to be stuck in the car for.

"It'll take us another seven hours or so to get to Portland, where we'll pick up a new rental and grab some breakfast and a couple of new phones so we can get in touch with Al, and then from there, it's between four and five hours to Forks."

Damn... Twelve hours in the car? At least we were safe for the moment. I supposed it could be worse.

~oOo~

Thirteen very long hours later, Edward drove through the thick forest for several miles before a huge house came into view. The whole thing looked elegant, a mix of timber and industrial gray stone, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows around most of the perimeter of the house. Some type of shutters covered the windows, but I could imagine standing in front of them, looking out over all the green of the huge lawn and all the trees surrounding the property.

"Wow," Alice and I both breathed at the same time.

"Edward, this is beautiful," I continued.

"Thanks. Mom had a lot of ideas when they got married, and she worked with the architect to design it."

Once we parked in the garage, Edward led us inside, and it was every bit as beautiful on the inside as it was on the out. There were bookshelves along one wall of the living room that were unfortunately empty of books, but I could just imagine them filled to the brim with books, knickknacks, and family photos. He pulled back the sheet covering a pretty red L-shaped sofa that contrasted nicely with the whites and wood tones of the room, as well as a wood-burning fireplace against the opposite wall.

It looked like someplace I'd happily be able to spend months at if we had to, and I couldn't wait to explore more.

"There's plenty of rooms for everyone to have their own if you'd like," Edward said as he pushed a button, suddenly flooding the house with natural light as the shutters raised.

I grinned, nudging my sister's shoulder with my own. "Good. No more bruises on my shins."

Jasper laughed as Edward winked at Alice and said, "Let the ninja have her own space. You can have my old room on the third floor."

"Is that okay?" Alice asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah, of course," I answered, reassuring her.

"Okay, good. Alice, you can have your pick of the rooms on the second floor, then. There's a guest room and my sister Rose's old room. Jasper can take whichever you don't choose." He raised an eyebrow. "Unless he wants to park his ass on the couch."

"Hell no. Guest room's fine with me," Jasper growled, shoving Edward playfully.

"Can we go into town here?" Alice asked, breaking up the wrestling match before it really got started.

Edward and Jasper calmed down and looked thoughtfully at each other for a moment.

"I suppose," Edward finally said, raising one shoulder for a moment. "Your pictures haven't been shown on TV or in the paper, so the chances of anyone here knowing who you are or what you're involved in back on the East Coast are virtually nothing. Use your new name, and you should be fine as long as you're with us."

"Why, darlin'?"

Alice grinned but then plucked at the front of her shirt. "Not that I wasn't grateful for the clothes, but I need a shower – and I'm not the only one – and a change of clothes, and I doubt there's anything here in terms of food or toilet paper or any other essentials."

She was right... I definitely could use a shower, too.

"You want to go into town with Jasper?" Edward asked. At her nod, he looked at me. "You want to go, too?"

My answer was quick. "Nope, I'm good." Laughing, I said, "Shopping is more fun for her. I'll probably lie back on the couch and close my eyes or see if that TV on the wall actually works."

"I'm not sure if the cable's on or not," Edward said, "but we can try." Pulling two of the new burner phones out of his pocket, he used one to call the other and then turned to Jasper and tossed him one of them. "Call when you're on your way back or if you run into trouble."

"Thanks. We'll be fine." Tugging open the garage door, he said, "Come on, Ali. Let's roll."

~oOo~

Twenty minutes after Jasper and Alice left, Edward tossed the television remote down on the table beside the couch. "Fucking boonies. We'll have to get someone out to hook up the cable. Maybe Alice will think to pick up a couple of movies. I'd text 'em, but better to stay off the phones unless absolutely needed."

"Well, I'm going to explore, if that's okay. Want to show me the rest of the house?"

Edward stood, holding out his hand to help me up; I tried to ignore the zing as our hands met. "Sure. Come on. I'll show you the master bedroom down here and then take you upstairs."

He'd gotten two steps before he stopped and said, "Hold up a sec, Bella." He reached to his back, and when his hand came back around, my dad's gun was in it. "This belongs to you. You've more than earned the right to keep it." He grabbed the bag from the table and plucked the last two clips out, popping one into the gun and handing it and the other clip to me.

I checked the safety and nodded my thanks before sticking it in the pocket of my sweatpants.

After a quick tour of the rest of the ground floor, we walked upstairs, looking through the very pink room that I knew Alice would choose. It screamed girl, whereas the guest room was done in shades of black, gray, and white, very neutral and un-like Alice. When we finally made it up to the third floor, I knew this was definitely where I wanted to sleep. The room was large, with a thick-weave carpet, and while it was masculine, it was also beautifully done in shades of blue, from very light to a dark navy. The double bed was centered along the back wall, across from a wall of windows overlooking the trees, and covered in a pretty comforter that contrasted nicely with the very pale blue walls.

"This is great, Edward," I told him. "Are you sure you want to give it up?"

He nodded. "I'm sure. I want to be on the first floor. Closer to the door," he admitted.

"Ah. Gotcha."

We headed back downstairs, and when we got to the landing on the second floor, we heard a car pulling into the gravel drive at the front of the house.

"That's not Jasper," Edward growled. "Go in there"—he pointed to Alice's room—"and lock the bathroom door. Don't come out for anyone but me or Jasper. Shoot anyone else who tries to get in. Got me?"

Nodding, I quickly turned and headed into the bedroom, aiming for the attached bathroom. I heard him check his weapon, chambering a round and clicking off the safety as he bolted down the stairs to the front door.

I wasn't usually religious, but I couldn't help but take a moment to close my eyes as I locked the bathroom door, saying a quick prayer under my breath that God please keep Edward safe from whoever had found us already.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I waited until I heard the door to my sister's old bathroom click into place before I moved down the stairs. At a crouch, I ran out the side kitchen door, through the open garage, and along the side of the house, hoping to meet the motherfucker at the front door.

My heart pounded in my chest because not only were Bella and I stuck in the woods without a car, we were also royally fucked if someone could find us in the tiny-ass fucking town of Forks. It wasn't exactly on the beaten path. If they could find us here, then nowhere was safe. It was why I'd thought to come there as a last resort.

Focusing on the snaps and pops of footsteps on the gravel, I waited until they were just close enough before readying my weapon and stepping around the corner of the house.

"Stop right fucking there," I said, pulling back the hammer of my gun.

"If you shoot me, you little prick, all sorts of info goes with me."

"Fuck, Al!" I groaned, leaning back against the house, lowering my gun, and bending at the waist in exhaustion. "You gave me a goddamn heart attack! What the hell?"

His deep chuckle made me smile, but I snorted into a laugh when he ruffled my hair. "Good to see you, too, kid." When I stood up straight and tucked my gun away at the small of my back, he eyed me from head to toe. "You look like hell."

"Yeah, well, you're no beauty queen, either," I snarked back. "It hasn't exactly been an easy few fucking weeks, you know."

He smirked, rubbing the hair on his chin. "Well, you've certainly ruffled Volturi's feathers."

I smiled smugly for a second but then came to my senses. "Oh shit! Bella."

I darted inside the house, taking the stairs to Rose's old room two at a time. I tapped on the bathroom door. "Bella, it's me. It's safe. Come on out."

The door creaked open and giant, nervous brown eyes met mine. "Who was it?"

"Come on," I said, rolling my eyes and taking her hand. "There's someone you should meet."

Al had come on inside and closed the front door, and he was gazing around the living room when we joined him. He glanced up, smiling warmly at the girl at my side. And then he put on his cheesy-ass charm. I'd have gagged...if Bella hadn't been eating that shit up.

"Alistair Chambers, at your service," he said with a gallant bow and a wink, but then he held out his hand.

Bella grinned. "Bella Swan," she said, the new name rolling out of her mouth effortlessly. "So you're Uncle Al?"

"Indeed," he sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes to me before he kissed the top of her hand. "That's the nicest thing he calls me."

Bella giggled, looking up at me.

"Sometimes, you deserve more," I countered, raising my eyebrow at him.

He merely grinned. "Where's Jasper? And Alice?"

"We needed supplies, and the girls needed clothes. We left with what we had on our backs, Al," I told him as we all sat down on the sofa. "So they went out just a bit ago to grab what they could in town."

My uncle's brow furrowed a little, but he shrugged a shoulder. "I suppose it's safe here for them to go out in public," he surmised softly. "You are over three thousand miles away..."

I nodded in agreement. "Why are you here?"

"I missed you, you cold-hearted thing," he simpered, making Bella snort. "As much as that's true, I have that info you wanted. And..." He pointed out the front windows toward the car he'd driven. "I brought you that. It's free and clear, unattached to anyone. I'll take the rental back with me."

I stood up to look at the car. It seemed to be an older model Jeep Cherokee, but in awesome condition. It was white, with tinted windows and tires that looked like they'd handle the rainy days of Forks just fine.

"Perfect. Thanks," I sighed in relief. "What did you find out?"

"We'll wait for Whitlock. He should hear this, too." Al turned to Bella. "You hangin' in there, sweetheart? This guy giving you any trouble? He's not too old for me to beat his ass...and there's no one to hear him cry like a girl out here."

"You wish, old man." I shoved him on my way back to sit down.

Bella smiled, shaking her head, and said, "Umm, no. I've lost track of how many times he and Jasper have saved my sister and me."

Al was quiet as he studied her, but then nodded. "Good. And you can handle that gun that's in the front pocket of your sweatshirt?" he asked, shocking her a little and causing her to rub the outside of her Air Force shirt.

"That's her gun," I told him, smirking at his chuckle. "She handles it like a cop."

"No shit? So your dad taught you how to shoot?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. At her tentative nod, he sat back on the sofa. "Well, that explains the unknown bullets at the Connecticut safe house."

A glance out the front window showed me Jasper and Alice were back, but Bella didn't notice due to the watery stare she was giving my uncle.

"I didn't have a choice!" she suddenly blurted out in a sob. "The guy...he was right there. He was going to shoot Edward, and I..."

"Shit, Al," I hissed, giving him a glare before kneeling down in front of her. "Hey, hey... You're not in trouble, Bella. Not at all. Al was just piecing together where the shots came from. It was self-defense, no question."

"I didn't mean to upset her, Edward," Al mumbled as Bella nodded and sniffled a little.

I barely shot a glance over my shoulder at him as I took her hands in mine. "Well, it hasn't exactly been a fucking ride at Disney for her, you know. They've been through hell and back." Turning back to Bella, I kept my voice low. "Jasper and Alice just pulled in. Why don't you go tell them who's here before Jasper gets nervous. And I'm sure they'll need help bringing shit in. I'll be out in a minute. Okay?"

"'Kay," she whispered, standing up and heading out the garage door.

I stayed kneeling down but gripped my hair in both hands before standing up to face my uncle. His face was impassive. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to punch him or follow the girl that had just left the room. Finally, I simply told him what had happened.

"She reacted on instinct at the last safe house. The asshole kicked in the door behind me before I could get them to the van. He was already aiming, and she pulled the trigger," I explained slowly and almost through gritted teeth. "She hasn't exactly come to terms with killing a man yet."

Al stood up in front of me and nodded solemnly. "Fair enough." He narrowed his eyes at me, but then smirked a little. "So how does it feel, son?"

Confused, I asked, "How does _what_ feel?"

He chuckled, shaking his head but squeezing my shoulder. "How does it feel to be knocked on your ass?"

I opened my mouth to argue, but everyone walked into the kitchen door, their arms filled with groceries and supplies. They were talking loudly, and I could see that Bella still looked a little upset as her eyes flickered between me and Al, but she wasn't as bad as before she'd walked out. At least she wasn't fucking crying.

He leaned in, whispering, "She wasn't afraid that _she_ was in trouble, Edward. She was afraid that _you_ were."

He poked my chest and then walked away from me.

Huffing a frustrated breath, I clawed at my hair again. I knew what he was hinting at – the last conversation we'd had before I'd gotten on a plane for New York. He'd been berating me about my lifestyle, that one day, I'd meet a girl that knocked me on my ass. As Jasper hugged and jibed with Al, my eyes slid to Bella once again, my teeth latching on to my bottom lip at the memory of kissing her. Fuck, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that again – and then some – which only made me narrow my eyes at my uncle for filling my head with hints of shit I couldn't think about at the moment. I still wanted to punch him in the face.

"Hi! I'm Alice," the tiny thing said after dropping a load of bags onto the counter. "You must be Uncle Al."

"Why does that sound so much better when you two call me that than when Edward does?" he asked her teasingly, giving me a smirk.

"Because you're a perverted old man that likes young girls?" I offered with a grin.

"Oh, yeah." His wistful smile caused them all to laugh, and that was fine by me.

It had been too long – or at least, it seemed like a long time ago – since we'd been feeling lighter. Yet, in reality, it had only a few days since we'd been eating my mother's spaghetti in Connecticut.

"And how is _Aunt_ Jane?"

He scowled at me. "She's no aunt of yours. And she's still a money-grubbing leech."

"So the same, then? That's good," Jasper teased, picking up a paper bag. He looked up at me. "I found that diner you used to whine about missing so damn much. I bought us a shit-load of burgers."

"Shut the fuck up, really?" I practically growled, snatching the bag from him and inhaling the amazing scent of beef, grease, and cheese.

"There's plenty for everyone...and then some," Alice told me, snatching the bag back before I could reach into it.

My mother's old dining room table and chairs were uncovered, and we all sat down to burgers and fries. Al took my father's old spot at the head of the table.

Jasper asked the one question that was most likely on everyone's mind. "How'd they find us at the safe house?"

Al sighed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He eyed us all, picking up a fry and dunking it in ketchup. "Back in the day, the Italians weren't above finding someone with the information they needed and torturing them for it. Now, with the way things have all been computerized, they find the smartest geek they can and put him to work."

"They hacked the database," I surmised.

"They tried to hack a lot of databases, but they settled on the one that listed the federal safe houses. They simply followed a computer tech from the DOJ home, snatched his laptop, and cracked his passwords. The tech knew nothing, of course, just that he'd been robbed, but by the time everyone figured out the system had been cracked, you guys were already in the air." Al sat back, but glanced at Bella when she gasped.

"The DOJ...so they... They know who Alice and I are?"

"No, sweetheart, they don't," he assured her, which settled the frantic looks around the table. "They followed a tech that didn't have access to that information. Their mistake, but our gain. Your new identities are safe because they're in a database that would take some serious hacking to crack open. Volturi's men didn't have the time nor the training for that shit. They did, however, take advantage of what they _did_ find."

"Process of elimination," I sighed, shaking my head.

Al's face was dark, but he nodded. "I spoke to your buddy Ben. He and his wife are fine," he soothed, holding up a hand when my mouth opened. "Word on the street is that Volturi is pulling everyone that works for him in on this to look for these girls, and he's paying a high price for proof of death. That being said, they had enough man-power to search each address they found. There weren't many houses to choose from, Edward. It's not like the federal government has a shit-ton of properties assigned as safe houses. They got lucky with Connecticut. There were two others besides Fairfield, and those were broken into on the same night."

"So was that Demetri Polizzi?" I asked him.

"We think so," he told me. "The fingerprints haven't come back yet on the abandoned car that was found not far from the Army Reserve base. However," he said, holding up another fry, "you did rid Volturi of four men that night – two at the house and two in town when the car flipped. They weren't ranked high in Volturi's family, but Caius isn't exactly happy."

"But Demetri walked away." Jasper sneered, shaking his head and glaring at the table.

"Yes, he did." Al's words hung heavily in the air. "The good news is that they have no fucking clue where you went. They'll continue to keep watch in the tri-state area because the prosecution is pushing for a trial date. That doesn't mean they'll get it. There are just as many paid-for judges as there are paid-for cops. Volturi's pockets run deep, deep, deep, despite the fact that he's being watched."

"So who knows we're here?" Alice asked nervously.

"You're lookin' at the only handsome face," Uncle Al said proudly, but looked to me. "Even your parents are in the dark. I told them I found them a short-term renter for this house. You'll have cable soon. I know you can't live without your soaps."

I scoffed at his teasing, but nodded in acceptance.

"You guys are, at this point, nowhere. End of story. You've completely fallen off the Earth as far as Caius Volturi can figure. He'll be frantic, especially if a court date is announced. All the motions to suppress were denied, but don't think that the defense attorneys won't make these girls out to be something other than credible. It's what they do," he explained, taking a sip of soda. "It was brilliant to come here, son. Forks is perfect. I can keep tabs on you, the girls can essentially go out in public, but none of you can come anywhere near Seattle. Not yet. Not until after they've testified. Got me?" he asked, looking around at the entire table.

We all nodded in agreement. We knew that in order to keep the girls' identities clean, we had to avoid their future place of residence. When all was said and done, they'd be moving into Seattle as Bella and Alice Swan. That absolutely could not change. To approach the city too soon would ruin everything, and they'd have to start all over with the DOJ with another set of names, new identities. Personally, I was damned certain that the girls would break in two if that were to happen. They'd _just recently_ come to terms with who they were, who they would be.

With a glance toward Alice and Jasper, who were chatting quietly amongst themselves almost forehead to forehead, and then to Bella, who was laughing at whatever fucking story Uncle Al was telling her about me, I realized that I needed them to make it to Seattle. I wasn't sure if it was because I needed to finish the job I'd started or because something in me wanted to keep them close. Always. Would I ever feel they were safe unless they were near me? And was it both of them? Or just Bella?

That last thought made me frown, shake my head, and stand up from the table to throw away my garbage. I snatched up the keys to the rental car from the counter.

"I'm going to make sure everything's out of the car," I stated to no one in particular, slamming the garage door behind me.

Pulling my cigarettes out of my pocket, I shook one out and lit it quickly, blowing out a lungful of smoke and checking the car. It was empty. Bracing my hands on the raised garage door above my head, I stretched, letting the cigarette hang from my mouth. Gazing around, I smiled at my old yard and surrounding woods. Fuck, I'd forgotten just how calm, cool, and quiet it was here. When I was still in college, it was here that I'd get away from classes, stress..._her_. It was here that I'd been able to refocus on my future, my career, not what Maggie had done.

The door to the house opened and closed quietly, and I turned to see Bella.

"You're not in trouble, are you? I mean, I know Ben wasn't really supposed to have given my dad's gun back, but..."

I chuckled, shaking my head at how right my uncle had been. "No. No trouble at all." I sighed, losing myself in her eyes for just a moment, but then looked back out at the woods. "I'll have to answer for the car chase before I answer to the guy that you shot."

"Really? But they were going to kill us," she countered.

"They were. And that's what I'll tell them. So will Jasper," I stated softly without looking at her. "Al's probably already smoothed it over, Bella. Don't worry."

"Okay," she murmured, following my gaze. "It's really pretty here. So green."

I grinned. "It's green now. It's white in the winter and rainy all the time, but it's—"

"Home," Bella finished for me.

"Yeah." I nodded, taking a drag and huffing it out. "It's a dinky little town where everyone knows everyone, but it's safe and comforting. I didn't appreciate it at all as a kid, not until I got into...college."

That last word seemed to cause a bit of recognition for her, but she said nothing about it.

"You don't know what ya got till it's gone," she said with a chuckle, and I nodded at her. "I get that." She paused for a moment but then said, "I was about to go clean up. I just wanted to make sure you're okay with giving up your old room."

"Definitely," I said, waving her on. "Take it. I'd rather be downstairs in case something happens."

There was a giant fucking elephant in the garage with us, but I was an even bigger chicken-shit for ignoring it. I knew it as she stared up at me for a moment. I could even feel it pulling me to her, but I simply dropped my cigarette butt and smashed it with my shoe. My cowardly ass was saved when the inside door opened again.

"I'm outta here, kiddo," Al boomed loudly, wearing a knowing smirk that still made me want to punch him. "Give up the keys," he ordered, and I tossed them to him.

Jasper followed him outside. "Can I have a word with the two of you?" he asked, shooting Bella a wink. "Sorry, darlin'."

"I'll leave you guys. It was nice meeting you, Al," Bella said, smiling up at him.

"You, too, sweetheart. Just...keep doing what these boys tell you, and we'll get you through this," he told her.

She nodded and gave me a quick glance before heading on into the house.

Al watched her leave us and then spun his head around to face me. "That's one beautiful girl." Al leaned against the car, facing us, but his focus was on Jasper. "Talk to me, Whitlock. Tell me about how you're bending a few rules in there."

Jasper grimaced and nodded. "I know, Al. I just... What are my options?"

Al folded his arms across his chest, but then rubbed his goatee slowly. His eyes studied Jasper and then glanced over to me. He cleared his throat, then said, "If you're serious about this girl, son, then you have to make sure that you still follow protocol until the very end. That means...protection, getting them to the trial, and then their adjustment to their new identities in Seattle." He ticked these things off on his fingers. "Technically, what you're doing... I _should_ pull you from the detail."

"But wait, Al—" Jasper interrupted.

"Let me finish," my uncle snapped, stepping forward. "There's no _written rule. _It's just smart thinking that handlers don't get personally involved with their witnesses. Has it happened before? Abso-fucking-lutely. And believe it or not? Sometimes, it works out. But what you have to ask yourself, Jasper... Are you willing to give up _your_ identity if Alice or Bella Swan's are compromised in the future?"

Jasper nodded, but he said nothing for a moment. "I understand that, Al. Really."

"Here's what you don't know," Al continued. "You also need to make sure that you don't fuck up. What I mean is... What happens in this house...or wherever...stays in this house. Got me? No one outside this situation needs to know. Once the trial is over and you guys get to Seattle, no one will be the wiser. To anyone else, you met at the fucking bar. Am I clear?"

I snorted, shaking out another cigarette and lighting it.

"Got it. Thanks, Al," Jasper said, patting my uncle's shoulder before heading back into the house.

I flicked the ashes from the end of my cigarette, trying to ignore Al's stare on me, but he wouldn't let me.

"Edward," he sighed, forcing me to look over at him. "You can fight it all you want, but I know when a man is about to beat the living shit out of me for upsetting his girl."

My nostrils flared. "She's not my—"

"Oh, yes she is," he argued. "And she's good for you. Just remember, she has to meet your parents as her new identity." He grinned up at me, twirling the keys around his finger.

"Uncle Al, I swear to God..."

"Shut up and listen, son." His voice was firm as he glared at me. "It's okay. And you'll figure it all out on your own. I have faith that there's a heart under all that crusty-ass exterior. I also have a feeling she'll be the braver of the two of you."

I smirked, shaking my head and thinking the asshole knew me too well.

"Anyway," he sang, patting the side of my face. "Your parents are well, and Rosie's doing fine. Bigger than a fucking house and driving Emmett insane, but she's fine all the same."

Chuckling, I said, "Thanks. Tell them I'm okay. Give them my love, yeah?"

"Will do, son. Stay low, stay safe," he told me walking to the driver's side of the rental car. "And stay in Forks, for fuck's sake." He paused after yanking the door open. "Oh...and all your shit from Connecticut is in the back of that Jeep, along with a few toys I thought you could use." He shot me a wink and a grin.

"Cool. Thanks." I nodded, but then called out, "Wait!" before he could sit down in the car. "Do I need to alert the current chief of police here?"

Al thought for a moment. "Normally, I would say yes. But you need to stay off the grid, so no, not yet. Let me handle that if the shit hits the fan."

"Sir," I sighed, backing off to the side so he could start the car and back out.

He rolled the window down, stopping in front of me.

"Thanks, Al...for all that you're doing."

He smiled sadly. "It's my job, kid. Those girls are important to stopping a very large wave, very long line of crime. But I get the feeling they're more important than even that. We'll get them to Seattle, Edward." He smirked, giving me a wink. "What you do after that is out of my hands."

Groaning, I shook my head, just as confused as before. "Go away, old man. You're starting to sound like Yoda, and it's pissing me the fuck off. Maybe I should have shot you at the front door."

"You'll miss me when I'm gone," he teased, finally tearing out of the driveway.

Gripping my hair but unable not to smile at him, I sighed. I was fucking exhausted and wanted to collapse into bed, and I was in need of a shower and wanted to crawl into a bottle of something alcoholic. But as I walked back inside, I decided to settle on two out of the three.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: So yes, Edward meant Forks when he said he was taking them _home_. Your guesses ranged from Forks to Chicago to Seattle...to Isle Esme, which cracked us both up to no end. And now you know how they were found. Who knows if that's truly plausible (possible? yeah, sure, of course. anything's possible!), but like Jenny said, we took some liberties.**

**So Al has given his okay to the Alice/Jasper relationship and given Edward a lot to think about. Who knows what the real policy is – or if there really even is a policy – about that. Again: Fiction. Liberties. ;)**

**We have a recommendation for you guys again this week. It's a story that Jenny & I both think is so well-written, so intense, so detailed, and Edward is so damn hot that it's one of our favorite WIPs.**

**_OPERATION: Break the Dawn_ by katinki. (I'd link, but... *kicks FFn* Search for her and you'll find her. :) )  
**

**Let us know what you thought of this one! We'd love to hear what you think is coming up, too. As always, we'll be back Wednesday with a teaser & next Sunday for chapter 10! So until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N #1: You guys are the best readers in the world, seriously. We love it! Your response to every chapter has been amazing. Here's a few notes to answer some questions:**

**Edward's family all live in Seattle. They don't visit the house in Forks unless there's an emergency. They moved away when Edward was in college, so there's really no danger of them finding out Edward's there.**

**No, the police chief in Forks isn't important. Edward just asked Al if he needed to contact him because when people in WitSec are relocated to their new home, the local police are notified.**

**Okay, so read on and then see Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 10**

**Bella POV**

Yawning, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen, following the smell of coffee. I could hear Edward and Jasper talking as I passed the second floor landing, and Alice's door popped open before I'd gotten any farther down the steps.

"Morning," she chirped, looking way too chipper for seven a.m.

"G'morning," I mumbled, covering my yawn with my hand.

Alice linked her arm through mine and chattered about what she planned to do all day as we walked, and I half listened as my mind tried to finish waking up. We had gone to bed early the night before after Al had left, since it had been a crazy twenty-four hours and we'd had such a long drive that none of us had gotten much sleep – if any at all. I knew that Alice and I had both dozed in the car for a few hours, unable to keep our eyes open, but if I wasn't mistaken, neither Edward nor Jasper had even attempted to close their eyes on the trip from the East Coast, in the plane or in the car. By the time we'd all made the beds with the sheets Alice and Jasper had bought and then crawled into bed, we'd been almost like zombies. It had been a unanimous decision to wait until morning to unpack and explore everything Al had brought with him.

When we walked into the dining room together, Edward and Jasper looked up. Jasper smiled and drawled out a good morning, while Edward nodded almost perfunctorily and then turned back to the food in front of him.

"Sit down, ladies. Have some of Forks's finest morning cuisine," Jasper said, pulling out the chair beside him for Alice.

Alice gratefully accepted the large paper cup of coffee he set in front of her and smiled. "What's for breakfast?"

Jasper pushed a styrofoam container to Alice as I sat down in the chair across from her.

"Fried eggs, sausage, home fries, and biscuits with gravy," he answered, smacking his lips playfully.

"Yum! Thanks for going to get it, Jazzy," Alice said as she popped the lid on her breakfast and dug in.

"Not me, darlin'," he said around a mouthful of food. "Ed went and picked up breakfast."

Alice mumbled a thank you after shoving a bite of her potatoes in her mouth, to which Edward nodded again in response.

"Scrambled, not fried, and crispy bacon," he muttered, almost under his breath, as he pushed an identical container in front of me, along with a plastic cup of orange juice.

I chanced a glance, and his gaze was at the container in front of him as he scooped up another bite of home fries and shoved them in his mouth. He seemed...angry, distant...like I'd done something wrong, but he'd also taken the time and energy to remember a passing comment I'd made one morning a few weeks before about not liking fried eggs unless they were smothered in ketchup with cheese between two pieces of bread. Maybe he'd just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

I mentally shrugged and then opened the container, my stomach growling at the sight of the bacon and eggs, as well as what looked like freshly cut fruit. I popped a piece of cantaloupe in my mouth and chewed, holding back a moan at the sweet juice that exploded on my tongue. As I ate, I listened to Jasper tell Edward what Al had brought for them.

"Yeah, four more phones, so we have a total of six now – won't need to be picking up any more anytime soon, I reckon." Jasper took a big drink of coffee before continuing. "I guess he felt like we weren't armed well enough – though, we've been doing fine so far, I figure – because he brought two rifles—"

"Sig Sauer 22?" Edward interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"None other," Jasper answered. "More ammo for the nine mills, as well as extra for the Sigs, plus a couplea knives, two tasers with a note to give them to the girls – I'm guessing that was because he didn't know they were crack shots—" he winked at us before continuing "—and four vests."

"Christ," Edward hissed. "Why the hell none of us thought to get that shit before now, I don't have a fucking clue. Even if we couldn't have flown with them, we coulda gotten 'em from Ben."

Jasper shrugged. "Got 'em now; that's what matters. Wait'll you hear what else he brought, man... Surveillance shit for the end of the driveway – supplies to set up an alarm in case someone drives or walks across it, plus a video camera to put up there so we can see from the house who it is before they get up here. The man knew what he was doing."

Edward nodded. "That works. I'll get that set up today."

"He brought all our stuff from the other house too, right?" I asked, wondering if our tablets had gotten included.

"Everything." Jasper smirked. "Even those yoga DVDs, so if you ladies need to...relax this afternoon, you can." Then he eyed Edward. "Hey, Ed... You know what's coming up, right? Want to do—"

Edward's chair scraped along the floor as he abruptly stood and shoved it back. "Forget about it. I am. I'm also gonna get started on that alarm," he said to no one in particular as he left the table.

Things were tense and quiet until the front door clicked shut, and then Alice turned to Jasper.

"What in the heck bit him on the ass?"

Jasper shook his head. "I'm not sure. He's been like that since Al left. Might be he's upset 'cause he's away from his sister, who's not too far off from having her baby. Might just be he's worried about us being able to keep the two of you safe. He'll snap out of it, though. Give 'im some time outside to work off some of the tension and he'll be fine."

"Well, good, 'cause he's being kind of a jerk," Alice grumbled.

I chuckled, agreeing with her, but I realized I felt bad for him. "It must be hard, being away from his sister right now. From what he's said, they're pretty close, so I know he must be worried. I hate that we're the reason he's not there with her and the rest of his family..."

"Nah, darlin', you ladies aren't the reason," Jasper said firmly. "I know he's told you this, Bella, but you gotta get it through your pretty head: you aren't responsible for any of this shit. That's all on Volturi. And yeah, he's upset that he can't be there with 'em, but they get it. They know he'd be there if he could be."

I was quiet as I thought about it, and I realized that I knew Jasper was right. Edward had been telling me over and over again that it wasn't my fault, and though I still felt guilty sometimes, I was coming to grips with the reality that I wasn't to blame. I could only hope that when his sister did have her baby and he wasn't there to see it, Edward didn't suddenly decide I was.

~oOo~

"Okay, kitchen's done," Alice said, smiling over at me.

We had cleaned the house – which really only consisted of dusting the surfaces that hadn't been covered by sheets, and after a quick clean up of the bedrooms, bathrooms, and living room, we'd moved into the kitchen. There hadn't been much to do in here, either, aside from wiping down surfaces and putting stuff away that Alice and Jasper had bought the day before.

"Has the ice maker started making ice yet?" I asked, wondering how long that would take. Edward had plugged the refrigerator in the night before, and he'd hooked up the water line then, as well.

"Yeah, I looked a few minutes ago. It's full."

"Excellent," I sighed, reaching for one of the red plastic cups on the counter. Filling it halfway with ice, I grabbed a Coke from the fridge and poured it in, emptying the can and then tossing it into the garbage.

"We need to go shopping again soon," Alice said as she got her own drink. "We just got drinks, coffee and a coffee maker, chips, and other snack-type stuff. We need to get a set of cookware and some dinnerware so we don't keep eating fast food. I already feel like I'm going to grow out of my clothes since I haven't been dancing in a while. Much more of the greasy diner food and I'll have to buy all new clothes." She huffed, poking at her stomach.

I laughed, shaking my head. My sister was short – even shorter than my own five foot four – and slender, with barely an ounce of fat on her. I knew she didn't consider herself fat, even now, but I also knew how much she used to burn off by dancing; when she wasn't teaching, she was practicing ballet, tap, or jazz. So she was right in a way... The greasy food we'd had the last two meals was delicious, but too much more of it without going back to exercising like she had been doing for years, and she would have a problem. Of course, the same could be said for me. Plus, Jasper was a damn good cook, and I'd enjoyed the time I'd spent in the kitchen with Edward, so those were definite side benefits.

"Okay, so shopping. We'll put that on the list. What else do we need to do?"

Alice thought for a moment. "Besides finishing up the dusting and stuff, I think that's about it for immediate concerns."

"Good," I told her. "Let's grab Edward and Jasper and play cards. Al included two decks in the bag of stuff he brought."

"Ooh, yeah! Let's play poker." Alice grinned and then hurried off from the kitchen to find the guys.

Shaking my head, I grabbed our drinks and took them to the dining room table, thinking of how quickly Alice had turned giddy...as she had every right to be at the mention of us playing poker. I may have been the numbers girl, but Alice was a card shark when it came to poker – Texas Hold'em, 5-Card Draw, 7-Card Stud...it didn't matter. She had an uncanny knack for the game, almost like she had an ability to see what cards were coming up in the deck. She wasn't counting cards, I'd made her swear about that, but somehow, she was just simply that good.

Edward had been outside for the better part of an hour, setting up the alarm at the end of the long driveway. When he came in a few minutes before Alice and I finished up the kitchen, he'd been a little less tense, a little more relaxed. Not quite back to the normal Edward I'd begun getting to know well, but still... And apparently, he was out of his funk enough that he'd agreed to play, because he came walking into the dining room behind Alice and Jasper.

"So what are we playing, ladies?" Jasper asked, tossing the deck of cards down onto the middle of the table.

I grabbed them and began shuffling as Alice told them we were playing Texas Hold'em, doling out small bowls of M&Ms to be used as the bets. Once they were shuffled, I dealt out two cards to each player. Before looking at their cards, Alice and Jasper each put in their candy for the blinds – one for Alice as the small blind, and two for Jasper as the big – and then we each looked at our pocket cards.

I had an eight and a ten of clubs, so after Edward tossed in his two pieces of candy, I added my own two. I didn't have great pocket cards, but they weren't bad, either. Alice added another piece of candy, calling on her cards, as well. Jasper checked, so as dealer, I dealt three cards face up into the middle of the table: ace of hearts, two of clubs, and six of clubs. Alice bet first, throwing three pieces of candy into the middle of the table. Jasper called, as did Edward, who chuckled.

"Mm, those are gonna make a great snack," he said, smacking his lips playfully.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep dreamin'..." I tossed my own three pieces onto the growing pile and then grinned when I promptly added three more. That flush was looking awfully good at the moment.

Alice laughed at Edward's suddenly grumpy expression and tossed in her own three candies to call.

"I'm out," Jasper said. "Damn it all..."

"Folding on the first hand?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of Texas boy does that in a game of Texas Hold'em?"

All he got was a raised middle finger in response, making both Alice and me giggle.

Once Edward had thrown his three candies in, I dealt another card: three of clubs.

Careful not to let my happiness over the turn card show on my face, I waited until Edward had thrown in his four candies before tossing my own in. Alice called as well, so I dealt the last card, the river, and the final round of betting went much like the previous.

"All right, ladies," Edward said. "Let's see 'em."

Alice and I turned our cards over just as Edward did his, and while I saw that my flush had beaten his three twos, Alice's full house – aces full of sixes – had beaten us both. She scooped up all forty-one candies and grinned.

"Thank you, lady and gentlemen," she said, popping one into her mouth.

"Luck," Edward grumbled, smirking when she raised her eyebrow and shrugged.

"We'll see," she sang. "Give 'em here. My deal this time."

The next five hands went much like the first, with Alice winning three of the five. Edward and I each won a hand, while poor Jasper was left out in the cold with only Alice to console him.

"That's it," he huffed. "I'm done. I think you must have some sort of...witchy powers," he said, pointing teasingly at Alice, "or you made some pact with the Devil." He stood, shaking his head and mumbling to himself as he moved into the kitchen, grabbing a cup from the counter.

Alice giggled and went after him, promising to share her winnings with him and to teach him everything she knew. His response wasn't clear, but Alice's laugh was loud and long, so whatever it had been, she'd quite enjoyed it.

Edward looked at the pair of them and shook his head, the corner of his lip curling slightly, and then he looked at me. "If they ask, I'm gonna be in there, looking over the rest of the stuff Al brought," he said, nodding his head toward the living room.

"I'll tell 'em." Holding up my cup, I said, "I'm going to get more to drink. You want anything?"

He shook his head. "Nope, I'm good. Thanks." Then he was gone, around the corner and out of sight.

Once I'd refilled my drink, I made my way to the living room. When I got in there, I saw that Edward had everything spread out on the coffee table in front of the couch. He had one of the rifles in his hand, and he was looking it over as I took a seat on the other end of the couch.

After a few minutes of silence, my curiosity got the better of me. "So what's up with calling him Uncle Al? Is he really your uncle?"

It took a minute, but Edward finally shook his head. "He was my dad's college roommate, so I've known him since I was little. He's always been Uncle Al to me, even after I got the job with him."

I nodded. "That makes sense. He seems like a good guy. He was really nice about the..." I bit my lip, not wanting to think about it again, but then continued, "About me shooting the guy."

Edward grunted, but continued looking over the stuff on the table without looking at me.

"So, umm, how far along is Rose? Is her husband – I'm sorry, I don't remember his name... Is he excited about the baby coming?" When he didn't answer, my mouth spoke without my brain's approval, continuing the word vomit I was apparently using to fill the silence. "I'm sure your parents are excited. This is their first grandchild, yeah? I bet they're thrilled and waiting on pins and need—"

"Christ, Bella!" Edward interrupted, startling me. He grabbed his hair and pulled once before standing and moving to the window. Without turning to look at me, he said, "Look, we need to get something straight. I'm your handler, not your friend. I'm here to keep you safe, get you through the trial, and then get you acclimated to your new life. I'm not here to become buddies with you. My family, my personal life... They're off-limits for discussion."

I recoiled, feeling like I'd been slapped. My chest ached, tears burned at my eyes, and suddenly, it hurt to breathe. Swallowing back a sob, I choked out, "Got it. Sorry to have bothered you," and then I turned and ran to the stairs, heading to Alice's room on the second floor. If Edward felt that way, I certainly didn't want to impose on his personal space on the third floor any longer.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Fuck," I hissed as a door upstairs slammed closed, falling down on the edge of the sofa and throwing the First Aid kit across the room. It thumped against the bookcase, coming to rest on the bottom shelf. "You're an asshole, Cullen," I muttered to myself.

Gripping my hair in my hands, I seethed at myself for making her cry, at Uncle Al for putting all this fucking shit into my head, and at Bella for just being...Bella. All I fucking wanted was to tell Bella about Rose, about how I wanted a nephew to spoil and send back to his parents just for shits and giggles. Emmett would adore her – and Alice, for that matter – and my sister would have a shit-ton in common with them both.

Bella was too much, too close, and too beautiful. She made me feel unstable and weak. If Al could see it written all over me like a fucking book, then I knew I was in some serious damn trouble. If somehow this whole security detail went to shit, if something happened... Fuck, I couldn't even form the goddamn thought. I couldn't fail Bella – or Alice. I just couldn't. And in order to keep my head on straight, I had to back off. I was getting in too deep with her, which would lead to mistake after mistake. Mistakes in this line of work were deadly.

"Get up," I heard Jasper from the front door. "Now, Cullen!"

I gazed up at him, my eyebrow raising at the rage that was just barely under the surface of the normally laid-back guy. One of his hands was on the front doorknob, the other balled up into a fist.

"The fuck do _you_ want?" I snapped defensively.

"A walk in the garden," he responded sarcastically. "Let's go. What I have to say to you shouldn't be overheard. Don't make me force you out of this fucking house, Edward."

As tempting as pushing the Texan's buttons sounded – because I could use a release for all this pent-up frustration – I stood up from the couch slowly and stalked through the door, down the steps, and onto the front lawn.

"Sweet Jesus, Edward! What the fuck is your problem?" he yelled as soon as we were far enough from the house.

I kept my back to him, saying nothing for a minute, so my partner took the opportunity to continue.

"You've been a real shit since yesterday! Even _I'm_ getting whiplash! One second you're okay, the next, cold as fucking ice. Did Al say something? Is there an issue I don't know about?"

"No."

"Then what the hell?" he growled, finally shoving my back to get a reaction from me.

I spun on him, gripping the front of his T-shirt and shoving him right back. He stumbled a few steps but made no move to come back at me.

"Ed..." he sighed, shaking his head. "Dude, you made Bella cry. She's in Alice's room right now. Did she do or say something wrong?"

"No." Fuck, I actually whined my answer, but the girl could do no wrong as far as I was concerned. And that was just another problem added to the pile. "She's getting too nosy, Jasper. This was supposed to be about keeping them safe, getting them to trial...not about being BFFs."

"And we are!" he argued. "We've done the best we can under the circumstances, asshole, but you can't keep her at arm's length completely. We're all under the same damn roof."

"You think I don't know that?!" I seethed through gritted teeth. "She's every-fucking-where."

"She's supposed to be every-fucking-where!" he yelled back, but then stopped completely, narrowing his eyes on me.

I couldn't look at him. Hell, I couldn't even meet his gaze.

"You like her," he surmised, almost in a whisper.

I snorted, shaking my head and starting to pace. It had gone well beyond like at this point. I wanted her. And it was fucking killing me. I was supposed to keep her safe, not follow her around like a puppy, which I was about five seconds from doing. That shit would get her killed. I'd make stupid decisions if shit changed.

"And...and don't give me that bullshit that you understand her, either," Jasper stated, walking to me. "This is more than understanding."

My nostrils flared, my fists balled up against my sides, and my eyes locked onto him with a scathing look. "You don't know what you're talking about, Jasper. Let it go."

"I won't, Edward. I can't. I have to live with your foul-ass, too. I get this professional bullshit you're trying to pull off, but it's not working because you're hating every nanosecond of it. It's eating you up. Why?"

I swallowed thickly, looking out over the cool green woods. "I kissed her," I whispered.

All that could be heard was the soft cry of a bird somewhere in the distance. It seemed even Jasper had stopped breathing. But I could hear my own heart thumping in my chest at even the mere memory of it.

"On the plane," I stated, turning to face him. "I couldn't stop, and I couldn't _not_ kiss her. She was upset...and she was right there...and she was..." I grunted to myself, shaking my head because I wasn't going to tell him just how amazing she'd felt wrapped around me. "If I don't keep my shit straight, it could get them killed."

He smirked, letting out a sigh. "No, it doesn't have to be that way, man."

I glared at him, but I knew he was speaking from experience at this point. I could tell things were more than just a quick fuck between himself and Alice. I'd tried to ignore it, tried to blow it off, but it was in my fucking face every day, twenty-four-seven. And he'd changed nothing about the way he handled his job; he was completely spot-on without hesitation. Suddenly, I fucking hated him for it.

"Yes, it does," I countered. "It has to be that way. It can't work. I'm no good for her outside of this situation. And when it's all said and done, she'll start her new life in Seattle."

"Where we'll be," he added, looking at me like I was the dumbest thing he'd ever seen. "Al said that there's no written rule that you can't be with her afterward. Yeah, we're bending the rules, Ed. But it's our job to keep their identities safe and secret, even after the trial. They can be introduced to who we know as their new names. And stop making excuses. Neither of you are saints. You need to trust me on that."

I snorted, not believing a word of what he was saying. Bella was good and innocent.

"You know, you're a real prick," he stated, frowning at me when I nodded in agreement. That was exactly what I'd been trying to tell him. "You push and pull at her. You play with her and then shut her out. Now you've kissed her. Want to tell me what you plan next? Fuck her and then push her away again? 'Cause I may have to kick your ass for that one. She's not the bitches at the bar, she's not something for you to play with, but she's not perfect, either."

He stepped up into my face, his expression fierce. "You need to pull your head out of your ass, Edward. I was just like you. Ask Alice. I fought her at first, but I decided who better than to watch over her than someone that actually, truly gives a shit about her. I also haven't exactly been a saint before this detail, but I'll gladly give the bar scene up." He poked my chest hard. "You...need to ask yourself whether this is about staying professional...or if you're just scared Bella is another Maggie."

I opened my mouth to curse him the fuck out, but he raised his hand to stop me.

"Your sister told me all about her. So don't even give me any shit about it. I know what she did, and it was a real fucked-up thing, but grow up, Edward. It's time to let the past go."

With that said, he spun on his heel to leave me standing in the yard. Before he got halfway to the front porch, he turned to eye me.

"I'd tell you to apologize, but you'd probably just fuck that up, too. You'd turn on all that fucking charm of yours, pull her in, and then be a shit all over again tomorrow. Leave her alone, Edward. If you can't act like a civilized human being, then just...stop messing with her."

He slammed the front door behind him, the sound of the same bird crying over my head. Rubbing my face, I walked away from the house under the guise of checking the security camera at the end of the driveway, but really, I needed to think.

~oOo~

Two fucking days. I couldn't sleep, nor did I say much to anyone, not that I hung out with any of them. I stayed up in the living room, wishing like all hell that we had some sort of cable, but really, I played hand after damn hand of Solitaire on the coffee table. I'd barely acknowledged that they'd filled the kitchen with pots, pans, and cheap plates and silverware the day before, not to mention a lot of groceries, but it was a welcomed change from the greasy-ass food we'd been picking up at the diner.

We were back to the way shit was in Connecticut. If I was in a room, Bella wasn't. She spent most of the day with her Kindle outside on the back deck if the sun was out or on the front porch in the swing if it was raining. At night, she'd hang out with her sister upstairs in Rose's old room. She would barely look at me, much less speak my way. Even Jasper had no patience for my ass. We'd talk about perimeter checks and watch the security camera, but personal shit was no longer brought up.

I finished up breakfast, leaving the French toast, sausage links, and fruit out for everyone while opting to take a run in the woods. I pushed myself hard on the old trail I used to run when I was training for the football team at Forks High, trying to bring pain, bring something other than the fucked-up feeling of emptiness in my chest. It didn't work. The only thing it brought was the burning in my legs as I made it back to the house.

I stepped into the kitchen, sweat pouring down my face and my bare chest as I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. The conversation that I'd interrupted came to a dull murmur, and I ignored them...until Bella spoke.

"Um...Jasper, I need..." she said tentatively...softly.

"What's up, darlin'?"

"I need... Is there any way that I could get a haircut? It's too long; the ends are breaking."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper glance my way, but when I said nothing and continued to down my water, he gave Bella her answer.

"Umm, sure. I believe there's one of those old-school beauty parlors downtown. It's right next to the barber shop that Edward sent me to. I'll take you. When?"

"Whenever," she sighed, sounding sheepish for even bringing it up.

Something about her going to Jasper about something she needed just...hurt – and pissed me off at the same time. She'd always come to me, since the beginning, and it bugged my ass to no end that I'd fucked up so badly that she didn't trust me with a simple fucking haircut.

I finished off my water, grabbed another bottle, and walked out of the kitchen.

"Alice, you going?" Jasper asked.

"No, I had plans to give myself a pedicure today," she said lightly. "I was going to try growing out my hair."

Bella chuckled a bit, a sound I'd missed. "Yeah, right. You'll be begging for a cut as soon as your bangs start poking you in the eyes."

"Probably," Alice said with a laugh, "but it's worth a shot."

"Well, go get dressed, Bella. We'll head over there when you're ready. You haven't seen those places...all those old women chattering on about who's doing who while their husbands are just as bad next door in the barber's chair," Jasper teased her.

I heard Bella thank him, the stool at the counter push back, and the dumping of dishes into the sink, so I walked into my parents' old room to grab a shower. Once I was clean, dressed, and about to grab the doorknob to my door, the phone went off in my pocket.

"Cullen," I bit out.

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine this morning?"

"What, Al?" I sighed, having no patience for his cryptic bullshit.

He laughed at me. "I figured you're missing your Oprah Network. So I was letting you know the cable guy will be out Friday around noon."

I grimaced at how far away that was, most of a week, ignoring his jibe at me, but said, "Fine. He's been checked out, I assume?"

"Most definitely. He's the only guy in the area, so you'll just have to deal with his schedule. Welcome back to Forks, kid. Where the cable guy doubles as a local firefighter and the dog catcher or some shit, too."

I snorted. "Right, right...got it. I'll watch out for him. Is that all?"

Al was quiet for a second, but then asked, "You all right, son? Everything okay out there?"

"Everything's...fine, Uncle Al," I sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "No problems. We're all just..._perfect_," I spat.

"Jasper's okay? The girls?"

"We're fine, Al. Promise. Everyone's safe; everyone's following the rules."

"Good," he said, probably not convinced from the tone of my voice, but he let it go. "Call me if you need anything, son. And I mean that."

"Will do," I stated and then ended the phone call once he'd said goodbye.

I walked out of my room, down the hall, and into the kitchen, reheating my breakfast. The smell of nail polish hit my nose, and I shook my head at how it brought memories back of living with Rose. She changed her nail polish color almost as much as most people changed their fucking underwear.

The scent was wafting in through the back door, where Alice was sitting at a table, a couple of little bottles in front of her. I was tired of being alone, and I wasn't sure she'd even talk to me, but I sat down outside with her at the other table.

"Which color, Edward? Blushing Bride? Or Raging Red?" she asked, holding up two different bottles – one pink, the other bright-ass red.

I eyed the two, smirking a little at her. I'd had this conversation with Rose, too. "Pink. It's not so..."

"Whore-ish?"

I snorted and then took a bite of a sausage link drenched in syrup. "Yeah. Something like that."

Alice giggled a little. "Yeah, I know, but sometimes, you want to feel...sexy."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever, Alice," I murmured, waving her on to do what she wanted. "You sound like my sister."

"And you sound like mine," she stated, though all her light banter was gone from her tone. When I glanced up at her, she was tilting her head at me, her face pretty serious.

"I'm sure I'm gonna catch hell from you, too, so let's have it."

"No," she said softly, shaking her head. "No, I get what you're doing. I don't believe a damn word of it, and neither do you, but I understand it."

She nibbled at her bottom lip, a trait that was so much like Bella, it hurt to watch. Fucking twins. I could well imagine that Alice knew everything that had happened in the bedroom of that plane. But it seemed the tiny thing wasn't saying it.

When I started to stand up, she stopped me.

"See, Edward, the problem is..._Bella_ believes it. All of it. Whereas all of us see that you're just hiding or maybe a little scared, she thinks that she's less than worthy."

"She's more than worthy..." I started to argue.

"Yeah, well, this isn't what you're thinking, and it's not about you. You should hear this. Sit the fuck down." Her eyes were fierce on me as she pointed to my chair.

My eyebrows shot up, but I did as I was told. I'd never really seen Alice angry. It was a little unnerving...and fucking scary, if I were to be honest.

"You're not stupid, Edward, so despite the fact that we're twins, you can see we're opposite in many ways. If she knew I was about to tell you this, she'd be pissed, but you need to hear it." She paused, picking up a bottle of nail polish and turning it over in her hands. "She'll be mad, but she'll have to get over it." She locked gazes with me. "This...thing you're doing? You're only reinforcing what _he_ told her."

I froze, narrowing my eyes at her. "Who?" I asked, though I had an idea.

She sneered, shaking her head. "Fuck, I hated him! I hated what he did to her." She took a few deep breaths, looking out over the backyard and finally landing on me. "Bella has always been...the academic one between us. The bookworm, straight A student, the quiet one. She's beautiful, but in high school, she was shy, focusing more on getting into college. She didn't date much – a prom date here, Homecoming date there. We were living with our grandmother at that point, who couldn't afford a college student, much less two."

I nodded that I'd heard her, but my eyes locked in on the tree across the yard. I was pretty fucking sure I didn't want to hear this story. I _needed_ to hear it, but I didn't _want_ to. I was afraid of it. I remembered Bella's reaction to the picture of this..._Mike_. Even more, I remembered her complete acceptance at my explanation of my back tattoo. Sometimes, pictures and memories needed to be deleted or burned. In my case, I needed a permanent reminder of who I was, what I was doing.

"When it came time for college, Bella and I both got scholarships to NYU. I went for dancing and theater, and she went in for accounting. We shared an apartment, we both got part-time jobs, and we stayed pretty much the same as we are now. Bella met a guy in school: Mike. You saw his picture. You saw that they would hit parties." She sighed, and I gazed over at her. Her face was sad when she looked up. "Edward, she was still the same shy girl. She was maintaining a four-point-oh average. She'd rather read than party. But she went places with him.

"Mike was her first...everything. First drink, first hangover, first..._first_, first long-term relationship," she continued, but then she paused. "I thought she was happy. I thought he was good for her. She got out more, was more social."

I braced myself for what was coming. "What he do to her?"

"It wasn't what he _did_. It was what he would _say_. Bella hid it all from me for almost a year." Alice's voice wavered, but she swallowed and went on. "He didn't think I was home one day. I didn't hear them at first, but then Mike started yelling, so I left my bedroom to come and check on her. She had a final to study for, but that wasn't really what they were arguing about. Bella told him she needed to stay in, and he got pissed. He told her that he was going out with the guys anyway, that maybe Lauren wouldn't be as..." She huffed, shaking her head. "Maybe Lauren wouldn't be as boring and frigid as she was."

I sat up, wanting to throw the plate in front of me. Bella was not fucking boring, and the way that she'd kissed me, she couldn't possibly be frigid, either.

"Wait, I'm not done."

"Alice..."

"Wait, damn it! I almost went into the room then, but Bella told him that she knew he was cheating on her already. She hadn't even told _me_ this shit! Almost a damn year of his verbal abuse, and she never told me." Alice sighed, still playing with the bottle in her hands. "Mike didn't deny it, Edward. He laughed. _Fucking laughed_ at her! He told her that he had to get laid somewhere, that she was useless and cold, that she was a cock-tease, that she was always so fucking busy that she never had time or was always too tired. Fuck, we were working, going to school, and studying! Christ, that was the same shit _he_ should've been doing! But instead, he was playing around."

"Please tell me she punched his ass," I said through gritted teeth, gripping my hair hard.

"I can't," she whispered, smiling sadly when I spun my gaze to hers. "She apologized to him. Said she was doing her best, but...she _was_ tired, she _was_ busy. She didn't punch him, but she ended it with him as soon as I opened the door because _I_ was about to punch him. He left after rolling his eyes and telling her she'd always be alone, that she was born cold."

I stood up, snatching up my empty breakfast plate. "I can't hear any more."

"You will!" she yelled, stepping in front me. "See, she changed after that, Edward. He'd succeeded in convincing her that she was boring, that she was frigid. So every once in a while, she'd go out, find a guy, and there would be no commitment, no strings attached. That way, she could focus on her school, work, and eventually, her degree." She sighed, shaking her head again. "She thinks I don't know, but I do. I know _why_. It's so that they don't really get to know her, so she doesn't let them in long enough to see the real her. She believes that the real her is just..."

"A numbers nerd," I whispered, my head falling back as Bella's own words to me came back like a slap to the face.

"Exactly," she whispered back. "I know Jazz is a little pissed at you, and I'm pretty upset with you, but the sad part? Bella isn't."

"What?" I asked, thinking that couldn't be right because she'd barely spoken to me in two fucking days.

"Nope. Not at all. She tried to stop Jasper from coming after you the other day. She's more than once said that we're to leave you alone, that we're bugging you. She's willing to accept it."

"Bugging me?!" I yelled, finally giving in and throwing the plate in my hands. "Christ on a fucking cracker!"

"My sister isn't boring. She's more than what she thinks she is."

"You think I don't know that?" I asked her.

We both looked up when the front door opened and the sound of Jasper's laugh echoed through the house, but Alice stepped up in my face.

"Edward, please, please don't be like him. Don't be proof that all men are the same to her, because I'm pretty sure she's convinced that you are. She's let you in, and you've only proven that she's too _boring_ to be even your fucking friend," she whispered to me. "I see how you look at her, how you take care of her, even when you think you shouldn't. The guy that worries about _his_ sister can't be the same asshole that just crushed _my_ sister."

Jasper and Bella slowed down when they saw me and Alice nose to nose, despite the fact that she was on her tiptoes to do it.

"Everything all right, darlin'?" he asked her.

I sniffed, taking a step back and feeling like the biggest asshole on the goddamn planet, but I bit it back. "Yeah, everything's fine," I answered for her, finally leaving Alice's intense gaze and looking up at the other two. "I was just telling Alice that Uncle Al called while you were gone. The cable guy will be here around noon on Friday."

I couldn't resist glancing Bella's way. Her hair was still long, still beautiful, but long layers fell around her face and down around her shoulders, looking silky and healthy. Her worried gaze flickered between her sister and me, but she simply nodded.

"What happened here?" Jasper asked, narrowing his eyes on me as he pointed to the shattered plate in the corner of the back deck.

"It slipped. I was just about to clean it up," Alice said, covering for me and walking in to grab the broom. Her eyes locked with mine, silently begging me to not say anything.

I turned to Jasper. "If you're back, I'm... I think I need to hit the barber shop, too."

He handed over the keys without a word, looking at me like I had three heads. I had to get out of the house. I had to get away from all of them. I wanted to punch Jasper for being there for Bella when she was too scared to come to me. I wanted to scream at Alice that I was protecting her sister, not crushing her, but I knew it would be a lie. And what was sending me running to the Jeep was the fact that I wanted to shake the ever-loving shit out of Bella for ever allowing any man – myself included – to treat her the way that she'd been treated.

As I stepped past them all, I paused just a second in front of her. I opened my mouth, but didn't know what to say. I should've told her that she was so far from boring, it was fucking ridiculous to think otherwise, that she was beautiful, and that she should stop worrying about everyone else and focus on herself for once. What I really wanted to tell her was that this fucking idiot Mike didn't know what the hell he was doing, and I wanted to prove just how not-so-frigid she truly was, but instead, I chickened out.

"I'll be back. Call the cell if you need me," I murmured, exiting the house and slamming the door behind me.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Oh, Edward... You stubborn, sexy, protective man. Don't hate him. He's a little...conflicted. ;)**

**We want to thank everyone that voted over at The Lemonade Stand, because _IP_ not only made it into the top five for the week, but we got first! So HUGE hugs and thanks from me and Jenny! :) The love you've shown us is awesome!**

**We don't really have a rec this week, unless you want to check out a small fic I'm posting at the moment called _Hard to Love_. You'll find it on my personal profile. :) But we're always talking fics in the Sarge's Girls FB group, so come on in. :)**

**We'll see you Wednesday for the teaser and again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N #1: We know, we know! Most of you wanted to yell at Edward for being an ass, and that's okay. ;) I promise, that won't last. :D Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, and recommended our story over the last week. The response you give us for each chapter continues to blow us away. No real questions this time, so I'll let you get on with it. ;) See Deb at the bottom! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 11**

**Bella POV**

It was dark when I woke up in the middle of the night Tuesday – or rather, _early_ Wednesday morning – and the moon was behind the clouds, so even the moonlight coming through the window of the bedroom didn't illuminate much. The house was utterly quiet. There were no creaks or groans of the house settling, there was no wind or rain beating against the windows, and I didn't even hear any snores coming from the second floor, even though I knew Jasper was asleep. He and Edward had stopped any sort of switched sleep schedule. Being off the grid, as they'd called it, meant we could pretty much go about our lives as normal – or as close to normal as we could get it right now.

After lying there for almost half an hour, I decided a cup of warm milk was in order or I would never fall back asleep. A lot of days now, it seemed, my mind had trouble shutting off at night, so half the time, I walked around like a zombie during the day when I didn't get much, if any, sleep the night before. Figuring I was warm enough in my long T-shirt and socks – and there was no one awake to see me anyway – I didn't bother pulling on shorts or a robe.

I opened the door slowly, hoping it wouldn't creak, and then slipped out to the stairs. I'd come to learn that the third and sixth stairs from the top made a noise if you stepped on the right half, so I avoided them and made it down to the first floor without waking Alice or Jasper. Alice's door was open enough that I could see her bed was empty, so I knew she was in with Jasper. My heart ached at the thought. I was happy for my sister – although if Jasper broke her heart, I'd have to kill him...U.S. Marshal or not – but I had to admit I was jealous. I didn't want to risk my heart again, not after Mike, and even Edward's recent behavior, but sometimes, especially lately, I found myself wishing I were brave enough to so I could find what it seemed like she had found.

Padding softly through the living room, I was just about to turn on the light for the kitchen when a voice came floating through the darkness.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Jesus, Edward!" I gasped, throwing my hand over my racing heart. "You scared the shit out of me!"

I turned and saw him stand from the couch, his face in shadows.

"Sorry," he chuckled, not sounding entirely sincere. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Sure," I scoffed, earning another chuckle. "Anyway, yeah, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep," I finally answered as I turned back and flipped on the kitchen light.

When Edward gasped, I remembered I was only wearing the T-shirt, and I reached out to turn the light back off.

"It's fine," he uttered softly. When I hesitated with my hand over the switch, he growled, "You won't be able to see if you turn it off. It's _fine._"

I nodded and moved into the other room to grab one of the large mugs the others used for coffee.

"I... I thought some warm milk would help," I told him as I padded over to the refrigerator.

"Here," he said, taking the milk from me. "Let me make some hot chocolate. Maybe it'll help me, too."

I was already shaking my head no as I tried to take back the milk. "It's okay," I muttered. "I'll just warm up some milk. I don't want to be a bother."

Edward slammed the milk down on the counter, the plastic container crumpling at the corners slightly. "Christ, Bella! You aren't a bother. Take a fucking seat and let me make you some hot chocolate." His tone was softer as he said, "I think Alice and Jasper even bought marshmallows I can put in it... Please?"

I bit my lip and nodded, moving over to a seat at the island. I sat with my T-shirt tucked tightly around my thighs, picking at my thumbnail nervously as I watched Edward prepare two mugs of hot chocolate.

After pouring some milk into a saucepan and putting it on the stove to heat, he combined some powdered sugar, dark cocoa, cinnamon, cornstarch, and a little bit of salt in a bowl and then divided it evenly between the two mugs.

"What's the cornstarch for?" I asked softly, hesitant to destroy the quiet vibe of the kitchen.

"It helps thicken it a little," he said, his voice just as gentle as mine had been. "It's a trick I learned from Rose in high school. She taught me this recipe when we got home from a football game one night and were nearly frozen solid."

I nodded, not saying anything more, although my head was swimming. The man was one big contradiction. Just a few days before, he'd basically told me that his family was off limits, yet here he was, making me his sister's recipe for hot chocolate and _telling_ me about it. My brain was rattling from all the back and forth he was doing.

Edward reached into the cabinet and grabbed a bag of mini marshmallows, tossing them to me. "Open these," he requested. "It's ready."

As I opened the bag and pulled out a small handful for each of us, Edward poured hot milk into each mug, added a spoon, and stirred to blend it with the cocoa mix. Once that was mixed, he slid one mug in front of me and then took a seat beside me. I scooped up one pile of marshmallows and held it out to him. Our fingers brushed as he took them from me, sending zings of electric shock throughout my body. Under my T-shirt, my nipples hardened to little points, and I had to fight not to squirm in my seat as my clit throbbed and my core clenched.

If Edward's flip-flopping attitude didn't kill me, the attraction and lust I felt for the man certainly would.

We drank in silence for a moment, and when I thought I was calm enough, I finally said, "This is good—really rich and delicious."

He smiled over the rim of his mug. "Thanks. I'll tell Rose she has another convert."

Again with a mention of his sister... Rather than bringing that up, I just nodded and said, "I'm thinking of seeing if Alice wants to rent a movie tomorrow—" I paused when I remembered the time "—or today, rather, since the cable guy isn't coming out until Friday. I can ask Jasper to take us—"

"No, I'll take you," Edward interrupted quickly. "I mean, if that's okay."

I nodded. "That's fine. If you don't mind."

"I wouldn't have offered if I minded, Bella, okay?"

I nodded again, falling quiet.

Silence filled the kitchen as we both worked to drink our hot chocolate. It wasn't entirely comfortable, though, so to fill it, I tried to think of something to say that wouldn't be too personal.

"I like the haircut," I told him, flicking my eyes to his newly done hair. He'd gotten it cut shorter all over, leaving it slightly longer in front. It still stuck up everywhere, evidence that he was still trying to run his fingers through it and pull at it in frustration, but it was styled such that it looked...right, like it was meant to be that way.

To my amusement, he reached up and scrubbed at it with his hand. "Yeah? It's shorter than I've had done in a while. I wasn't sure..."

"No, it looks good," I reassured him. "Very stylish."

"Thanks." He looked at me for a moment before looking back to his cocoa. "Yours looks great, too." Reaching out, it seemed like he was going to tuck it back behind my ear, but then he pulled his hand away. "It, uh...looks really soft. Shows off your eyes well, too."

"Thanks," I murmured, bending my head so I couldn't see his face. I could feel my cheeks heating, and I knew the last thing he'd want would be to see how much his comments had affected me.

We were quiet then as we finished our hot chocolate.

When I finished the last bit of mine, I yawned and stood, moving over to the sink to rinse out my mug. "That was good, Edward. Thanks. I think I'll be able to get to sleep now."

As he said something about him being able to as well, I bent to open the dishwasher, forgetting about my lack of clothing...until I thought I heard him groan. I straightened quickly, but when I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, his gaze was trained on the island in front of him, so maybe I'd heard wrong.

Not wanting to embarrass myself, I said goodnight and hurried out of the kitchen. His soft goodnight echoed in the quiet darkness of the living room as I headed for the stairs and my room.

~oOo~

All four of us decided to go into town to get a movie. Alice had been excited, immediately knowing she wanted the romantic comedy, _The Back-Up Plan_, starring Jennifer Lopez and her TV crush, Alex O'Laughlin from _Hawaii Five-0_. "He's _sooo_ cute!" she'd squealed, giggling when Jasper had cleared his throat and raised his eyebrow. "He's no Jazzy, of course, but he's cute."

I had immediately vetoed that one, saying if she wanted to get it for herself, that was fine, but I wanted something other than a romantic comedy.

"I'm thinking the newest _Transformers_," Jasper said as we walked through the shelves at the local video store. "I haven't seen it yet, and I've been meaning to."

"_Batman_," Edward said, reaching out and grabbing out to grab _The Dark Knight_.

Jasper cracked up, shaking his head. "Dude, you've seen that movie like fifteen hundred times."

Edward shrugged unabashedly. "So? I like it." He grinned at me when I giggled. "I almost got the Bat symbol right...here." He reached up and tapped his chest, just over his heart.

"That would have been...colorful," I teased, imagining the bright yellow and black on his muscled chest.

He nodded. "Okay, so Alice wants the chick flick, Jas wants robots—"

"_Alien_ robots, man. Keep up!" Jasper interjected.

Edward sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sorry, sorry. Jasper wants _alien_ robots. And I want the most bad-ass superhero ever. Bella, what about you?" He put the Batman movie back and walked along with us as I led the way to the next aisle.

Picking up one of my go-to favorites, I said, "_Good Will Hunting_."

"Aww, really, Bella?" Alice whined. "Haven't you seen that enough?"

I shrugged, smiling. "I like it." I couldn't resist teasing her. "Plus, it has Matt Damon and Ben Affleck..."

In the end, we decided to get all four of them, but Alice agreed to watch hers when she was by herself, although I overheard Jasper whisper that he would watch with her if she wanted. Her answering grin was adorable and made me giggle as I handed Edward the bag of movies and climbed into the Jeep.

From there, we went to the grocery store to pick up snack foods that we could eat while we watched. Like the movies, it was a mix of opinions, and we ended up getting pizza rolls for Edward and me, taquitos for Jasper, and egg rolls for Alice, as well as meatballs and chips with spaghetti sauce and salsa for dipping for everyone.

When we got home, Alice and I waited in the car with Jasper while Edward made a quick check of the perimeter and did a fast sweep inside. When he waved us inside, Jasper drove into the garage. I grabbed the movies and Alice grabbed the food as we climbed out of the Jeep.

"Let's watch _Transformers_ first," Jasper said, digging through the bag, which Edward ripped out of his hands.

"No way. _Batman_," he argued, keeping Jasper away with one hand while he held the bag up with another.

I couldn't help but laugh. "It's like watching two ten year olds argue, isn't it?" I whispered to Alice, who giggled.

"Come on, boys," she called, breaking up the wrestling match that had started in the middle of the kitchen. "There's plenty of time for both movies. How about you play Ro—"

She was interrupted by the ringing of the cell phone in Edward's front jeans pocket.

He slid it out and up to his ear, giving Jasper a look that I couldn't quite interpret, and said, "Hello?" After a moment, he pulled it away and tapped a button, putting the phone down in the middle of the island, where we all gathered around.

"Hey, guys," Al's voice rang out. "Everyone there?"

All four of us echoed in the affirmative.

"Good, good."

"So what's up, Al?" Edward asked, his hands tensed into fists as he leaned on the island looking worried. "Has someone figured out—"

"You're fine," the older man hurried to say. "Your location is secure, Ed. I just called to update you on the case and give you a piece of news."

"Have they set a date for court?" Alice asked timidly.

"No, sweetheart. There's no court date yet. I told you it could take months," he explained. "The defense – and in turn, the prosecution – are investigating the bar, seeing if they can find any witnesses that say the girls were drunk or had taken any drugs—"

"We don't do drugs," I hissed, "and yeah, I had a couple of beers and a shot, but I wasn't drunk."

Alice nodded, her eyes shooting daggers at the phone from across the island.

"No, Bella," Al pacified, "I know that. The prosecution knows that, too. The defense is reaching, I swear. I told you they would attempt to drag the two of you through the mud in order to discredit your testimony. That's their job, as terrible as it may seem. They will pull out all the stops to discredit you and Alice to the jury."

"Still don't like it," Alice grumbled. Jasper put his arm around her and pulled her into his side.

Edward glanced at them and then me before looking down at the phone. "Is that it, Al?"

"No, son..." He cleared his throat. "I got word today that Victoria James, the DOJ attorney you met with, was killed late last night. She was in her car and called 9-1-1 to report that someone was following her. She was speeding, trying to outrun them, and lost control. She died on scene when her car flipped and crashed into a concrete barrier in the middle of the interstate. Peter, her boss, said he believes it was Volturi's men."

Alice and I gasped, and Alice buried her face in Jasper's shoulder.

I felt tears pooling in my eyes as I thought of the sweet, flirty redhead that had been so nice to us. When a strong arm wrapped around my shoulders, I startled and looked up into Edward's concerned face. He squeezed, and I let my guard down, tears flowing now as I turned my face into his chest and cried.

"Why does he think it was Volturi?" Edward asked, his voice rumbling through his chest.

"Victoria's 9-1-1 call said it was a big black SUV, and Peter said she hasn't been working on anything else that would have gotten her killed," Al explained.

"Why would they want to kill her, though?" I asked, swiping at tears as I stared at the phone.

Again, Al's voice was soft as he said, "Peter believes whoever it was planned to kidnap her, because after lunch yesterday, she mentioned seeing someone she thought was Demetri Polizzi hanging around when she came out of the deli she went to. He disappeared when she was joined by four colleagues, including Peter."

"Fuck," Edward hissed. "They wanted to know what Victoria knew about the girls."

"Yes," Al agreed. "Peter thinks they wanted to gain information on their WitSec file, since they knew she had been the girls' contact. So when they couldn't grab her at lunch, they tried following her after work, but she spotted them and tried to outrun them."

"So what's being done for security now?" Jasper asked, still holding a crying Alice.

"Peter's the only other person who knows where their information is on the computer system, but the way it's set up, he doesn't know the information himself. Regardless, he's been put under twenty-four-hour guard until the trial. Your new identities are safe, ladies, and anyone involved is as safe as they can be, so try not to worry, okay?"

Alice and I nodded, and Edward said, "Thanks, Uncle Al."

"Of course. I'm sorry to have to call with that kind of news, Ed. Take care of those girls, you hear me?"

"Yeah, we hear you," Edward said, and then he hung up the phone, leaving the kitchen in silence.

"God, that poor woman," I said through my tears. "She'd be alive if—"

"Don't," Edward snapped, turning me around and forcing me away from him to hold me at arm's length. When I looked up, he continued, his voice much more gentle. "Victoria's death was not your fault, Bella. She knew when she took her job that there were risks, and when took on your case, she knew the risks were even higher, and she did so willingly. She knew what she was doing, so don't belittle the choice she made by taking the fault away from the only person it belongs with."

"Volturi," I uttered weakly.

"Yes, Volturi," he agreed. "The best way to get revenge is to stand tall and testify against Caius Volturi so her death, and Eleazar Denali's, weren't in vain. Understand?"

"Yeah," I finally answered, knowing he was completely right. "I get it."

He nodded, finally releasing my shoulders, and stepped back, raking his hand through his hair as I swiped away my remaining tears.

I looked around and realized that at some point, Alice and Jasper had left the kitchen. "Guess that puts a damper on movie night, huh?"

Edward smiled sadly. "Maybe...but maybe it's just what we all need to take our minds off everything, huh?"

Nodding, I said, "Yeah, maybe. I'll go see if Alice and Jasper are up for it."

Moving to the entrance of the kitchen, I looked back to see him standing at the sink, hands braced on the edge, head bowed, and shoulders tense. I turned back so I wasn't facing him; it seemed like a private moment, and I didn't want him to think I was intruding.

Just before I stepped into the dining room to go find my sister, I said, "Thanks, Edward," and then I hurried off without waiting for a reply.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Christ," I hissed, my forehead thumping to the tile wall of the shower.

I was blind due to the stars flickering behind my eyes as my hand continued to move up and down my dick. Bella would be the death of me – something that had nothing to do with the mob. No, it would be T-shirts with nothing underneath, the pull to her that I couldn't fight no matter how hard I tried, and the need to never see those beautiful, soulful brown eyes fill with tears again.

"Fuck," I groaned, eyeing my dick at the thought of the T-shirt again, only this time, it wasn't the cartoon character on it...it was my navy blue USMS T-shirt. "I hate you," I sneered at my cock that was semi-erect again.

I hated myself more. What I'd thought would be a good thing had turned into torture. I despised the fact that where I once made Bella feel comfortable and protected, now there was this huge feeling of anxiousness when she was near me. She'd fidget and apologize and barely look at me. What used to be easy conversations were now stilted and tense. I'd thought I wanted space from her. I'd thought distance would bury what I was feeling, but I'd been wrong. It only made me want her more. It made me want things I had no business wanting, and it was just too fucking bad, because I was pretty sure she damn well hated me now. Karma was a bitch, but I really had no one to blame but myself.

Jasper was right: I wasn't protecting Bella... I was protecting myself from Bella.

With that thought, I shut the water off and grabbed a towel to wrap around my waist, but I froze when I could hear voices through the vent in the ceiling. Grinning, I shook my head and reminded myself to tell Rose how our parents always knew she was sneaking out back in high school. They could hear her plain as fucking day. She wouldn't find it as funny as I did, I was sure of that.

"This conversation isn't happening, Alice," Bella snapped, and I could hear footsteps thumping across the ceiling above me as I stepped out of the shower, swiping at the fog on the mirror. "It doesn't matter what I think or feel or anything. It's never mattered to anyone what I feel." There was a sound of someone sitting on the bed. "Edward's made it perfectly clear – a giant neon fucking sign – that I'm not even his friend. I'm only good for getting on the stand, Alice. No more. No less."

"But the way he looks at you..." Alice argued.

Bella laughed humorlessly, and I met my own gaze in the mirror.

"He drives me crazy. One minute, I want to kiss him senseless, and the next, I want to punch his face." She paused for a second. "Maybe you should take Dad's gun."

Alice laughed at the same time my eyebrows shot up. Damn.

"Aw, Bella, he's not that bad. Jasper says Edward's just had some rough shit happen in the past," Alice tried to explain.

"You know what?" Bella squeaked. "We've _all_ had bad shit happen. In fact, life is one shitty life lesson after the other. He should join the fucking club, but instead, he hides behind everything like a security blanket."

"He's not Mike, sis."

"No, he's worse."

Bella's voice was completely firm when she stated that, and I had to brace myself on the vanity at how much that fucking stung. My head fell down and I shook it slowly. I was a complete and utter asshole if I was worse than that motherfucker.

"No..."

"Yes. At least Mike was honest. He told me how he felt, how I wasn't enough. Edward can't even do that. One moment, he's snapping at me for asking about his family, and then the next, he's making me hot chocolate, telling me all about how it was his sister's recipe. He's so confusing! He twists shit around to suit whatever he's feeling at that moment. I honestly can't keep up."

"Mike wasn't honest, Bella. He was abusive." Alice's voice rose, and it sounded like she got up from the bed. "And you can't stand there and tell me you don't want him. I see it in your face."

My head shot up, my skin suddenly on fire with the possibility of what Bella's answer would be.

"More than I've ever wanted anything, but...it doesn't matter. And I have to face that. I have to realize that I'm just a job to him. The kiss, the comforting hugs, the...anything nice that he does is just him doing his job. The rest? That's the real Edward." Bella paused for a moment. "You're really lucky, Alice. Jasper's willing to give up everything should something go wrong once we're in Seattle...and that's if we make it there. He's a good guy. I'm happy for you."

Alice didn't say anything for a second, but then she sighed. "We'll make it. And maybe once we're settled, you'll find someone else. Different city, different people."

Bella huffed a laugh. "Maybe. That's a long way off." The door opened up with a slight creak. "It looks like it'll be a sunny day. I'm just... I need air."

"Hey, at least we'll have TV later. The cable guy's supposed to come in about an hour, right?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, at least there's that," Bella said, and I could hear footsteps thumping up the stairs.

"Way to go, Cullen," I murmured, running my hands through my still-wet hair. "You've officially made her as bitter as you are."

I took a good look at myself in the mirror. My eyes raked over my face, seeing dark circles underneath my eyes, evidence that my sleep had turned to shit. As I braced my arms on the bathroom counter, I stared at the ink on my arm. Both tattoos represented my birth father. And for a moment, I wondered if he'd be proud of me. Something told me he wouldn't be, which led me to my mother, and I could practically feel her slap the back of my head for acting like an ass.

I suddenly wished like hell I could talk to Rose. I needed her insight, her blatant honesty, but even without her there, I knew what she'd say. She'd tell me I was acting like a moody, emo dick. She'd call me out on my fears. And she'd tell me that sometimes, diving in head first was worth it. The last thing she'd told me was that one day, I'd want to remember the girl's name, but I knew more than just Bella's name. I knew everything about her.

Emmett once told me that he'd give up everything for my sister. I'd worried about his job at the Seattle PD when they first got together. He explained that if he ever felt like he couldn't do it, like it had become too dangerous, that he'd quit and become a mall cop for the rest of his life if that's what she wanted.

I'd shaken my head at him at the time. I couldn't imagine giving up everything I'd ever worked so fucking hard for – years of school, training, working up the ranks. Not for a woman. I'd almost done that once, and it had proved to be a stupid fucking mistake.

My eyes slid to the mirror, but it was the reflection in the glass of the picture behind me that I locked in on. The ink on my back was a permanent reminder of Maggie. No matter how hard I tried to tell myself otherwise, it was simply a sign that I'd been run over once. It might as well be tire tracks rather than the Celtic design that it was.

I stood up straight, still staring at the swirls of green and black ink on my back. I frowned at the realization that Maggie, while physically beautiful in her own right, was not Bella. Bella couldn't do the things that my ex had done. It just wasn't in her nature, which was a thousand times more beautiful than Maggie's ever had been. I also realized that the thought of Maggie...simply didn't hurt as much as it once had. And that caused a cold sweat to break out across my brow. I sat down on the edge of the tub, gripping my hair in my hands.

"Holy fucking shit," I breathed.

"Cullen!" Jasper called from outside my bedroom door. "Cable guy just pulled in."

"'Kay, I'll be out in a sec," I yelled back, rubbing my face and standing up to walk into the bedroom.

I dressed quickly in jeans and a T-shirt, running my fingers through my hair. Thank God it was short enough now that it required less maintenance, not that I'd done much with it before. I secured my gun at the small of my back, making sure my shirt covered it. Al may have checked the guy out, but that didn't mean I couldn't take precautions. Lastly, I pulled on my sneakers, finally stepping out into the hall.

I made it to the living room just in time to see a fairly young guy shut the door to a pickup truck with a topper on the back. He was in his twenties and not what I was expecting. I stepped out onto the front porch just as he reached the bottom step.

"Hey. The name's Seth. Someone called about installing cable?" he asked, his smile easy, free, kind. He had short, dark hair, almost black eyes, and he was just about my height. Not a single thing about the kid screamed trouble.

"Yeah," I sighed, jerking a thumb around to the back. "The box is back here, on the other side of the garage."

"Cool. Just show me where it is and I'll get to work. This place hasn't had service in a while, so I'll need to make sure it's upgraded," he explained as he followed me around the side of the house.

"Sure, man. Whatever you need to do, just get it done. Can't watch shit without it," I muttered, pointing to the box on the wall, but when I looked back at him, his eyes were elsewhere...and wide.

Following his gaze, my nostrils flared. Bella was sitting out in the backyard, Kindle in hand, but I'm sure that the shorts she was wearing were what caused his mental stumble. Not to mention the small smile that was curling up the corners of her mouth.

"Hey!" I snapped, and his head spun my way. "Not _her_. Here!" I pointed to the wall, raising an eyebrow at him. "Got me, sport?"

"Yeah, gotcha," he said, opening the box. "Okay, gotta change out a few things. I'll get the stuff out of my truck. Won't take long. Promise."

"Good. Get it done," I told him, stalking across the backyard and up the deck steps.

I didn't even glance Bella's way, but I did leave the back deck door open when I got inside the house. I couldn't look at her knowing I not only owed her an enormous apology, but that I was on a razor's edge with her. The sight of those legs, those big brown eyes, would be my undoing.

Jasper was tossing the last bite of a sandwich into his mouth when I walked in. "He seems harmless," he mumbled with his mouth full. "You got this? I need a shower after my run."

I nodded silently, waving him off. The kid may have had a staring problem, but he was, indeed, harmless – or at the least, easily intimidated.

I pulled out a Coke, cracking it open and downing half of it before grabbing out the ingredients for my own sandwich. I glanced up from the counter when I heard Seth's voice.

"Mind if I set this here? It's better than traipsing back and forth to my truck," he said, setting down a rather large toolbox on the table next to Bella.

"No, go ahead," she answered him.

"Seth," he said, giving her a cheesy smile as he pressed his hand to his chest.

"Bella," she introduced herself with the most stunning smile I'd seen yet on her, and the plastic knife in my hand snapped into two pieces when they shook hands.

Forgetting my fucking sandwich, I leaned on the counter to watch what was unfolding on my back deck, crossing my arms across my chest.

"That your boyfriend?" he asked her, gesturing toward the house with a pair of pliers.

Bella snorted, shaking her head. "Uh, no."

Something about that answer sounded off, slightly sad, but all Seth heard was the go-ahead to continue talking.

"So, what'cha readin'?" he asked her, walking back to the box.

"Oh, umm..." She paused, looking at the Kindle in her hands, but then gazed back his way. "Cosmo."

My eyes narrowed on her, and her face was slightly pink with that lie she'd just spouted. I knew for a fucking _fact_ that Bella despised girly magazines, TV shows, and romantic comedies. She said they lowered her IQ. I also knew she'd been wrapped up in a reread of _Pride and Prejudice_, because I'd asked her why she was reading it if she'd already read it. She'd told me they were like old friends – comforting and warm. I'd also have been willing to bet she was knee-deep in a ginormous Sudoku game and kicking its ass. But there was no fucking Cosmo on that Kindle.

"That's cool. My sister loves that magazine," he stated, clipping wires and attaching new fittings to the end. "So, did you just move in?"

"Something like that," she hedged, the Kindle long forgotten as she set it down on the chaise in front of her.

"Well, if you want someone to show you around, let me know. I was born and raised here," he said proudly, giving her a big smile and a fucking wink.

I balled up my fists so hard that all my knuckles cracked loudly. If anyone was showing Bella around, it would be me. But Bella laughed lightly.

"Umm, I've seen most of it, I think," she told him with a giggle, standing up to lean against the deck railing. "It's not exactly big."

The fucked-up part was that she didn't exactly tell him no, but she was getting closer to him, smiling at him, and he was eating that shit up. And I suddenly saw the girl that Alice had told me about, the one that didn't need strings attached. I remembered thinking that those beautiful eyes could bring a man to his knees...and they were! Right in front of me.

All I could hear was Alice's last words to her sister upstairs – that Bella would find someone else once they finally got to Seattle. I shook my head to clear it, but all I could think was that only _I_ could protect her, only _I _knew just what she needed when she was upset, only _I _knew that she preferred hot chocolate to coffee, her eggs scrambled, not fried, that she'd rather read than watch TV, and that she secretly played that numbers game on her tablet. And she was damned good at it, too.

No new guy would ever really know her like I did. I'd seen her at her lowest, her most frightened and vulnerable, her angriest. I'd seen her hurt – both by myself and Alice. I'd seen her amused, happy, and brave. Bella was beautiful throughout it all. No man would know that; no man would _get it_. And fuck me, I'd seen her turned on, and of all the emotions, that was the one that drove me mad. I'd had a tiny taste of her, and despite how fucking hard I was fighting it, it would never be enough.

I pushed away from the counter and stepped out onto the deck behind her. There was no stopping me. I'd had enough.

"Cosmo, Bella? Really?" I asked her in a whisper, and she gasped, turning to face me. "Does that usually work? Making out like you're this...dumb girl?"

Her eye twitched at me. "Shut up, Edward. Don't give me shit. I know for a fact he wouldn't be here if he hadn't been so checked out that Uncle Al probably has the results of his last medical checkup. So if I feel like being nice..."

I snorted derisively. "Nice?"

"Yes, nice!" she snapped back in a hiss. "Forgive me if I want to talk to _someone_ that isn't involved in this shit," she rattled off in a whisper.

_That_ I understood, but it didn't stop me. "What's on the Kindle, Bella?" I asked, but she didn't answer me.

"All set," Seth said, holding out a clipboard for me to sign, but his gaze flickered between me and Bella; I wondered for a split second if he could feel the crackling energy that was between us, because he sure as hell backed off.

With barely a glance away from her, I signed the paper, shoving the clipboard back at him.

"Here's my card, if you need anything," he offered, and the little rectangle piece of paper came up between us, closer to Bella than me.

I snatched the shit from his hand, glaring at him. "Got it. Thanks," I grunted, and once he was around the corner of the house, I looked back to the girl in front of me. "Kindle, Bella. What's on it? Or should I just look for myself?" I asked, starting to move toward it.

She froze, glancing from the chair to my face. "_Pride and Prejudice._"

Suddenly, she was blazing pissed, her eyes snapping to mine, and I feared for the survival of my dick. If she'd had her father's gun, she might've even shot me. I was pretty certain of that.

"Edward, go away. Leave me alone," she sneered, shoving me back a little.

Holding up Seth's card between two fingers in front of her face, I asked, "Do you want him? Want him to show you around?"

Bella looked away from me, her breathing heavy.

"Tell me," I said softly, because I could barely control myself not to just reach out and take her. I stepped closer until we were chest to chest and Bella was trapped between me and the deck railing. "Tell me you want him. Tell me you really want me to leave you alone, Bella."

She panted, tears welling up in her eyes as she glared anywhere but at me. Yet, she still didn't answer me.

"Tell me," I whispered, forcing her gaze to mine and dropping my forehead down to meet hers. "Say it."

"I... I can't," she barely squeaked.

"Good," I grunted, tossing the business card away and gripping the railing on either side of her hips. "Because I'd really hate to have to kill him for touching you."

Her eyes suddenly locked with mine. "Edward..."

"I can't do this shit anymore," I admitted. "I just _can't_... I've tried so fucking hard to stay away from you, but I can't." With just the right move, I could press my lips to hers, but I didn't. And it was torture, especially when Bella's tongue glided sexily across her bottom lip. "I want you, and it's selfish and stupid because I can't promise anything. I don't know..._anything_. But I know for a fucking fact that no one will ever lay a finger on you. Not Volturi, and certainly not the motherfucking cable guy!

"But Jesus, Bella, I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore," I declared, closing my eyes, and my heart pounded at just how weak I felt finally admitting that aloud.

My eyes snapped back open when I felt warm fingers slip up my jaw and through my hair. Her face looked pained as those deep eyes raked over me, but then morphed into no expression at all, and I was damn sure she was about to strangle me with her bare hands. And I would deserve no less for the way I'd treated her.

"I'm sorry," I gushed softly. "For all of it. For everything I've said. It was bullshit." I panted, letting go of the railing and opting for her waist instead. "I'll tell you anything you want to know about my family. Hell, yes, we're excited about the baby. I've been teasing my sister that it's a boy from the get-go simply because I know she secretly wants a girl. My parents? They're over the fucking moon. Hell, they've all but put it in sky-writing that they'll be grandparents."

Bella's brow furrowed at my sudden rambling. "You hurt me," she whispered.

I nodded fervently. "I know. I'm so sorry." I cupped her face, making sure she was looking at me. "You did _nothing _wrong. It was all me. All my fault. I thought you'd be better off with someone else, but I realized that the thought of someone else touching you makes me a lunatic and—"

"Edward," she interrupted me, a slight smile curling her lips. "I... I don't want the cable guy, and I don't want you to leave me alone...ever again."

I studied her face, her eyes, even her mouth, but my hand slid slowly into her hair at the base of her skull. Threading my fingers into the silky locks, I pulled her mouth to mine. This wasn't like our kiss on the plane. There was no preamble to it. It was instantly deep, claiming, desperate. Tongues twisted and tangled, teeth scraped along bottom lips, but I pulled back when Bella used my shoulder to pull herself up onto the railing.

I panted, realizing she was nearer my height, but my heart thudded in my chest when I stepped between her legs, diving back for her mouth. Still keeping one hand in her hair, I wrapped the other around her waist completely so she wouldn't fall.

Instantly, I was hard for her and now pressed tightly where I could feel searing heat rubbing against me. It caused a moan to push out of me against her cheek, especially when those insane legs wrapped around my hips to pull me that much closer.

Breaking away from her lips, I bent her head at an angle so that I could catch my breath but kiss down the side of her neck. That sweet skin had been calling me for ages. I'd felt denied the last time we'd kissed, but I wouldn't be denied again. And fuck, if it wasn't worth the damn wait.

"Edward," I heard in my ear, and my God, that was better than how it sounded in my dreams.

"Hmm?" I hummed against the soft skin behind her ear.

"Edward, I want _you _to show me around," she whispered, and my head popped up from her neck to look her in the eye. "This place means something to you. I want _you_ to do it."

Something possessive and feral ran through my soul at the sound of that request. And as much as I wanted to take her right there in front of God and everyone, maybe I needed to earn her trust back. She wanted me; I could feel it in her kiss, the way her legs were shaking around me, and holy shit, the heat coming from between them, but I'd be an ass to force it all right this second. I'd fucked up. I needed to repair that, and this was the first thing she'd voluntarily asked of me in so damn long.

"Yeah?" I said with a quiet groan, mentally trying to force my dick back into submission, but it was nearly impossible when she bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Today? Now?"

"Whenever."

I shook my head. "No, don't do that. You tell me what you want, Bella. You wanna go today?"

She grinned, letting a little laugh out. "Yeah."

I took a deep breath and a half-step back from her, setting her down onto the deck. "Okay. Go get ready, see if anyone needs anything while we're out, and meet me in the living room."

Her smile was a billion times brighter than that fake shit she'd tossed Seth's way, and I couldn't help but chuckle as she dashed inside the house. I shook my head, feeling whole for the first time since we'd been in my old house, and I realized my need for her was more than I'd thought. Uncle Al was right. I'd been knocked straight on my ass. I just wasn't sure what the future held for us.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Yes, yes, yes... **puts hand to ear** You can hear the sound of Edward's head popping right out of his ass. ;) Like 95% of you said that in your reviews, and I couldn't help but laugh. Some of you understood where Edward was coming from, and some found him to be rude. And just about all of you wanted to kiss Jasper – and your attitudes about Alice changed a lot, too. ;) That's all good. :) I think the one thing you've ALL been SO curious about will be answered in the next chapter. I've heard from a number of you that are liking the slow burn and from some that are just DYING! ;) Hey...there's nothin' wrong with a good, strong kiss, is there? ;)**

**We want to welcome all new readers that have found us through recs and The Lemonade Stand. :) If you're new, you can find us on FB and Twitter. The links are on our profile.**

**So we'll see you on Wednesday for the teaser and again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N #1: We'd like to thank all of you who take the time to review – either on FFn, Twilighted, TWCS, or on FB/Twitter – and tell us what you like. Even if you don't agree with or like something we wrote, if you take the time to tell us you're still enjoying the story and not just complain about things you dislike, we're appreciative. We know most people will have a few issues throughout the story. Everyone has differing opinions when they read, and that's fine. We don't expect everyone to love every word we write. But to hide behind a guest review and spew hate, that is neither nice, nor needed. My mother always said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." That isn't necessarily true. Constructive criticism is never a bad thing. But if you say something like, "Your Bella is a whore and the fact that she went to a bar is why they're in the predicament they're in" and complain about the fact that you don't think they'd have the fixings for hot chocolate in the summer, why even bother reviewing? Or if you DO feel the need to review with that, at least have the guts to sign your name to it, owning your opinion, so we can contact you privately and talk through it, rather than taking it public.**

**Now, as to everyone else, we love you and we're so glad you were all so happy about the last chapter. I promise, you're going to love this one even more. :) And I know you're thrilled about Bella & Edward FINALLY getting together. But as one reviewer said: "About time ... But then not. All that crap had to happen to make them see each other as something more than they had before." That's it exactly. :)**

**Okay, read on, and then see Deb at the bottom. Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 12**

**Bella POV**

I hurried inside, deciding I needed to change clothes before Edward and I left. When I passed through the living room, I grabbed Alice, who was sitting on the couch as she flipped through channels on the newly installed cable.

"Come with me," I hissed, dragging her up by the hand.

"What? What happened?" She scrambled to her feet and gripped my hand as we rushed to the stairs.

Giggling, I said, "Edward's taking me on a tour of Forks, and I have to tell you something, but not until we get upstairs."

We raced up to the third floor, waving to a confused-looking Jasper as he came out of his room.

In my bedroom, I shut the door behind us and then jumped face first onto the bed, smothering my girly squeal in the pillow.

Once I'd gotten the initial excitement out, I sat up and looked at Alice. "He kissed me again. Like..._really_ kissed me, Ali. He apologized, said he was sorry for everything he'd said, that it wasn't true."

I continued telling her all about it, about how he'd kissed me until I hadn't had a single clear thought in my head, and by the time I finished, she was fanning herself.

"Whew!" she said, giggling. "Who knew he had it in him?"

I did, but rather than say that, I simply nodded and said, "Okay, so, help me figure out what to wear? Please?"

Alice spent less than five minutes sifting through all my clothes, finally deciding on a new pair of jean shorts I hadn't worn yet, a thin, sky blue T-shirt with flutter sleeves, and a long, single strand necklace dotted with pearls and beads. I slipped my feet into a pair of cute summer sandals as Alice started messing with my hair.

"It's fine," I told her, trying to brush her hands away.

She chided me with a cluck of her tongue. "I'm not doing anything fancy. Just hold still," she huffed.

In the end, she was happy with the results, although when I looked in the mirror, I couldn't really tell much difference. It looked a little neater since she'd run the comb through it, but she'd left it down around my shoulders to show off the still-new cut.

"Thanks, Pix," I told my sister, giving her a quick hug.

I touched up some lip gloss and let it go at that. If we'd been going out to a bar or club, I'd have added a bit more makeup, but I didn't want to look too done up just to tour Forks. I didn't wear a lot of it on a normal basis anyway, so if Edward was expecting that, better I find out now instead of later.

Just as I put my hand on the doorknob, Alice spoke.

"He knows. About Mike, I mean."

I froze, my heart plummeting to my stomach. "How?" I whispered, already knowing the answer.

"I...I told him." As I turned to face her, she rushed to me and continued speaking quickly. "He needed to know, Bella. He needed to know that even though neither Jasper nor I didn't believe him – and hell, sweetie, even _he_ didn't believe it – he needed to know what his words had done to you. He needed to know what he had done when he lied to you – because that's what it was; you know that now."

"Oh, God," I gasped. "He pities me. That's why—"

"No!" Alice growled, cutting me off. "This is not a pity thing with him, M—Isabella Swan. Did he feel sorry for you? Yeah, maybe. But only because he knew how wrong Mike was, just like I knew. Bella, you should have seen him. He was ready to fight for your honor against a man he's never met – not because he felt sorry for you, but because he knows you didn't deserve anything Mike said or did to you. You're the only one that's ever thought you did. So he had to hear it because he had to know he was hurting you more than he ever thought possible."

Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes for a moment. "That...wasn't your call to make, Alice. That was _my_ story, _my_ past. Not yours."

"Maybe not, Bells," she sighed, finally reaching out for me and pulling me into a hug as I stayed stiff in her arms. "But you're my sister, and I love you, and if I can prevent you from being hurt further, I will...even if you don't like it."

I finally melted against her, my will to fight gone. "He really isn't doing this – kissing me or saying he wants me – to prove a point or...whatever?"

She shook her head. "He looked...ruined when I told him that you weren't pissed at him, that you'd believed him because you didn't think yourself worthy, sweetie. I think whatever happened in his past affected him a lot like Mike affected you, and to know that he'd hurt you like that just about killed him." She pulled back and looked up at me. "Please, Bella. Give him a chance, okay? I think he'll surprise you."

I wanted to believe her... I wanted to believe _him_. I thought about his face when he told me he wanted me, that he didn't have the strength to stay away from me anymore. And his apology, I knew it had come from his heart.

Suddenly, I knew Alice was right. Edward hadn't said those things because he felt sorry for me. If he did, he could have just apologized for snapping at me and told me he was afraid to get too friendly because it could compromise my safety – or a variety of other excuses he could have made – and then gone on being aloof. But he hadn't. He'd apologized for what he'd said and it seemed like he wanted...more.

I smiled, feeling the rest of my apprehension and worry melt away. "Thanks, Alice," I whispered, hugging her tight. "Love you."

"I love you, too, Bella," Alice replied, squeezing me. "Now, Edward's wait—"

A knock on the door interrupted her.

"Ladies, everything okay in there?" Jasper asked. "Edward is about to crawl out of his skin downstairs, worried Miss Bella's changed her mind. You all right, darlin'?"

I laughed, swiping at a few tears that had fallen before opening the door. "Yeah, Jasper. I'll be right down."

Jasper raised an eyebrow, but Alice shook her head and smiled. "We'll be down in a minute," she said.

He nodded and then turned and headed back down the stairs, and his muttered, "Women!" as he shook his head made us both giggle.

"You ready?" Alice asked, smoothing my hair by my ear one last time.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and nodded. "Yeah," I said. "I am."

~oOo~

"What about that booth there," Edward said, pointing to one alongside the right wall of windows.

"That's fine."

I smiled as he put his hand on my lower back and guided me over to the booth. We'd decided to visit the infamous Forks Diner for lunch since I hadn't eaten anything yet and he'd sheepishly admitted to abandoning his sandwich making when he caught wind of Seth's flirting.

Sitting down across from him in the booth, I couldn't help but think back to a few minutes before, when I came down the stairs.

"_There you are," he huffed, stalking over until there was little space between us. He didn't touch me, but his eyes moved over my face, as if searching for something. "You okay?" he asked quietly. He frowned, worry lines appearing in the middle of his forehead. "You were crying."_

_I smiled gently. "I'm okay."_

_After another moment, he nodded, appearing to take me at my word. "You look—" he huffed again, shaking his head "—fucking beautiful."_

_I felt my face heat. "Thanks." In an effort to take the attention off me, I asked, "Ready to go? I wanna see all the big tourist attractions this big ol' city has to offer."_

_Edward laughed and guided me to the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "We'll be back in two minutes – or a couple of hours, if Bella lowers her standards for what she considers tourist attractions," he called over his shoulder to Alice and Jasper, who were standing together at the bottom of the stairs, grinning at us._

I was pulled out of my musings by the sound of the waitress.

"Welcome, folks. What can I getcha?"

Looking up, I saw an older lady, with obviously dyed red hair and a rather large chest. And then she smiled as she looked over at Edward.

"Why, Edward Cullen, as I live and breathe. How are you, honey?"

"Melva," Edward said with a grin. "I thought for sure Fred would've convinced you to retire by now."

The waitress, Melva, chuckled. "You know me, child... They'll have to roll me outta here when the time comes." She glanced at me. "And who's this pretty little thing?"

Edward smiled, reaching over to take my hand. "This is my girlfriend, Bella."

I had to keep from jolting at the feel of his hand on mine and the word girlfriend attaching my name to him – it was a long-forgotten feeling, but I liked it.

"We're staying at my folks' old house for a bit with some friends," he continued, oblivious to my inner thoughts. "You probably saw Jasper in here the other day – tall, skinny, bit of a cowboy. He'd have been with Bella's sister, a short little thing."

"Why, Lordy me! Alice, right? Yeah, sure, I remember them. It's nice to meetcha, Bella honey." She smiled before turning back to Edward. "How's your family? Still in Seattle?"

Edward nodded. "Yes, ma'am. They're still doing the same as they were here. Rose and Emmett are having a baby."

The woman shook her head and smiled sadly. "Time sure flies. I remember when the two of you were just kids, and now you're having babies of your own."

I couldn't help but like the plump waitress with the sweet smile and obvious affection for the man across from me.

Oblivious to the customer in the corner trying to get her attention, she continued, "And you're a year older now, right? You just had a birthday?"

Edward shrugged. "Yes, ma'am."

"June eighteenth? Nineteenth? Something like that, right?"

"The twentieth," Edward said, shrugging sheepishly when I raised an eyebrow.

"Right, the twentieth. I always got yours and Steve Spencer's mixed up, they were so close together."

He nodded. "His was two days before mine, yes."

Melva smiled. "That man has three little girls already. Keepin' him on his toes, they are. You'll have some little ones of your own soon, I hope?" She patted his shoulder. "Well, anyway, that's enough from me. You two know what you want yet?"

"Burger?" Edward asked, looking over at me. When I nodded, he said, "Two of the burger specials – one fries, one onion rings."

"And to drink?" Melva asked without bothering to write anything down.

"Two Cokes," Edward answered.

"All right, I'll be back with your order shortly," she said, smiling before she hustled away.

"Your birthday, huh?" I asked as his cheeks tinted pink and he shrugged. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Edward looked sheepish. "Because I was acting like an ass and figured no one was in the mood to celebrate."

I nodded, thinking I'd have to figure out a way give him something for his birthday without actually buying anything, since I didn't have access to any funds at the moment.

The next thirty minutes was a mix of short conversations about nothing of great importance – what movie we wanted to watch after dinner, whether we had the stuff to make Edward's French toast, that sort of thing – along with eating the juicy, greasy hamburgers and splitting the fries and rings Edward had ordered. We'd also run into a handful of other people he knew from his time in Forks: the new chief of police, an old buddy from high school; Paul and Embry, two of the guys from the local rez, as they'd called it, who he'd partied with in high school; Sue, an older Native American woman who had recognized Edward and said her son Seth had been the one to install our cable earlier that morning; and then there was Claire, who we ran into on our way out of the diner.

"Oh my God! Edward Cullen?" The young blond woman's voice was nearly two octaves too high, and the way she threw herself into Edward's arms made me want to rip her face off. "How are you? Oh my God, it's been like...years!"

Edward pried her off him and moved her away as much as he was able while smiling what I'd come to know was his polite smile and saying, "Hey, Claire. I'm good, thanks. Yeah, it's been a while." His smile turned genuine and he slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. "This is my girlfriend, Bella."

Claire's smile dimmed, although she tried to stay upbeat as she nodded at me. "Hello." Turning back to Edward, she asked, "So like, are you here in town for long?"

His hand clenched on my hip as he said, "We're not sure yet. Hey, listen, Claire. I'm sorry, but we've gotta run. It was good seeing you."

Her smile dimmed again as she forced out a cheerful, "You, too, Edward!"

Edward quickly led me back to the Jeep and shut the door for me before jogging around to the driver's seat and climbing in, promptly turning the key and backing out of the parking lot.

I giggled at his obvious hurry. "Oh my God! She was so friendly!" I chirped, squealing when he reached over and poked at my side with his finger.

"Can't believe she's still the exact same as she was in high school." He looked pained as he raked his hand through his hair. "The _exact_ same, Bella! Valley Girl voice and all."

I laughed. "Yeah, but you totally thought it was great back then, didn't you?"

He groaned and said, "Yes, dammit. I was stupid."

Giggling, I reached over and put my hand on his leg, patting it gently. "It's okay, Edward. All teenagers are stupid. If it makes you feel young again, I can like..._totally_ talk like her!"

Edward growled and then picked up my hand and kissed the palm once before setting it back on his thigh. "How about a walk on First Beach down on the rez? Then on the way back to town, I can show you the hospital my dad worked at, we can stop at the bookstore, and then head over to the high school."

I smiled, nodding. "Sounds perfect."

We were quiet as Edward drove out of Forks and to the beach. Once he parked, he came around and helped me out, holding my hand as we stepped down to the sand.

"It's so pretty here," I said, looking out at the water.

"Mmhm," Edward agreed, but when I glanced over at him, he was looking at me, not the waves.

My face warmed with a blush, and he reached up and brushed the backs of his fingers over my cheek.

"I love that," he murmured. "Such a pretty pink." Then he grinned. "I wonder, though... How far down does that pretty blush go, Bella, hmm?" His eyebrow waggled suggestively.

Laughing, I shook my head. "I'm sure you'll find out...someday," I teased, turning to pull his hand to get him moving again.

"Bella!" he groaned, and I laughed as he bumped my hip with his.

There were families and young people scattered all up and down the beach, enjoying the sunny day. Before long, both of us were ready to go.

"We'll have to come back with Alice and Jasper and plan to swim," I told him as he helped me into the Jeep.

Edward nodded. "Sounds fun. I haven't been to the beach in years."

"Me, either, actually. Not since we moved away..."

He smiled sadly and then closed my door and jogged around to his side.

"Okay, so..." I started in an upbeat voice, not wanting a mention of my past to bring down the fun afternoon we were having. "You mentioned a bookstore?"

Thirty minutes later, I had a new mystery to read, as well as a new puzzle book, and we'd been by the hospital where Edward's dad had worked until they moved to Seattle.

Edward pulled up to the high school – which consisted of a small group of buildings, almost house-like, that didn't look anything like the high school Alice and I had gone to – and parked in a lot close to the football field. "This is it," he said. "Good old Forks High."

I grinned. "I'm sure you've heard it a million times, but... What was your mascot? A spoon?"

He laughed and shook his head. "The Spartans, actually, silly girl." He took my hand and led me along a path to the entrance of the field. "I played running back all through high school. Got scholarship offers to play at a few schools, but I wasn't good enough to go pro, and I knew that wasn't what I wanted, so I turned them down." He chuckled. "Can't say my mom wasn't disappointed about that..."

"I bet," I laughed. "Probably worried her baby would be hurt."

Edward grinned. "Damn straight."

We walked up into the stands, and then I climbed up to sit on the sun-warmed rail. Edward slid his hands up my thighs and then stepped up to stand between my legs, wrapping his arms around my waist as I looped mine around his neck.

"This feels...familiar," he teased, leaning in to press a long, slow kiss to the soft spot under my ear.

I tilted my head, allowing him better access to my neck and whimpering when he suckled lightly at the skin, teasing it with his tongue.

"Fuck," I hissed when he drew the skin into his mouth, biting down gently.

I scratched lightly at the back of his neck with my nails, whimpering when he kissed his way up my neck and across my jaw to my lips, hovering there for a moment. We shared a breath, in and out, the electricity nearly arcing between us before he finally lowered his head and brushed his lips across mine once, twice. On the next kiss, I couldn't resist the need to really taste him. He met my tongue with his own, tasting and teasing, light tickles and firm strokes, until I was panting for more.

"God, Edward," I moaned when we pulled apart to breathe.

He immediately moved back to my lips, sucking the top, then the bottom, then top again, teasing them as he nibbled softly. I could feel it down to my toes and everywhere in between.

"Get a room!" a male voice called out as another cheered.

We broke apart, laughing, as two guys continued to jog their way around the track.

"Shit," he laughed, sighing as he dropped his forehead to mine. After a moment, he pulled back to look me in the eye. "Bella, I... I need to admit something." When I didn't say anything, he said, "I... I know about Mike."

I blew out a breath, nodding. "Alice told me she told you, Edward." I shrugged. "It's fine, really."

He rushed on. "Don't be made at her, B. She was simply trying to protect her sister. I would do the same for Rose. She wasn't trying to betray a conf—"

I stopped him with a finger on the lips, shaking my head. "I know," I said, smiling to soften my words. "Really, it's okay. I...I thought at first maybe this—" I waved my hand between us "—was because you felt sorry for me...that you pitied me, but—"

"Christ, Bella," he growled. He thrust his hips, letting me feel the hard length of him pressed against me. "Does this feel like pity? Like I feel sorry for you? Damn it, Bella. I'm hard all the fucking time around you. And no matter what that fucker told you, a frigid woman wouldn't make me feel this way." He was still thrusting his hips, and the friction was damn near enough to light me on fire, I was so hot.

I needed him at that moment like I'd never needed anyone. Throwing my arms back around him, I used them and my legs around the backs of his thighs to pull him in tight against me, and then I latched onto his mouth, feeling his answering kiss like a siren's song.

I barely paid any attention to the runners' yells a few minutes later, concentrating as hard as I was on Edward's lips on mine and his hands gripping my ass like a lifeline.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

It felt like one of my many dreams. My hands were touching, gripping, kneading places I never thought would be allowed, but damn, they were, and it was only making me want more.

But even more was the amazing feeling of introducing Bella to people I'd known ages ago – people I'd grown up with. My girlfriend. And while it was the easiest coverup for why we were in Forks, in my parents' old house, it didn't exactly feel like a lie. It was real, what I wanted.

"Forget the room! Do her here!" I heard from behind me.

I growled, literally growled, breaking away from the most fuck-awesome kiss I was participating in, only to lock gazes with Bella, her amusement showing clearly in her deep brown eyes. I, on the other hand, was _not_ amused.

"I'm gonna shoot a motherfucker," I muttered, starting to pull away.

Bella cracked the fuck up, holding me right there with strong arms and even stronger legs. "Edward, stop. They're just kids."

Her laugh was contagious, and I smirked, rubbing the tops of her thighs. She was so beautiful, and I wasn't sure there had ever been anyone that could have stopped my temper like that before. Not even...

I frowned, swallowing thickly and stepping back a little to give myself space. I needed to tell her. It was only fair. It was one of the questions that I'd denied her weeks and weeks ago. I owed it to her. Bella hadn't deserved my temper then, and she sure as hell had no idea just how much we had in common.

"Edward, you okay?"

"Yes. I just..." I nodded, shoving my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. They touched on my pack of cigarettes, and I couldn't stop from pulling one out. Gazing around the playing field, I held up the cigarette. "I know you hate it, but I need to answer another question you asked me before, and this helps. Okay?"

Her face morphed into an adorably confused expression, which only confirmed just how...sweet Bella was. I'd snapped at her, told her that certain subjects were off limits, so to her, they were truly off-fucking-limits. She'd never ask again, most likely forgetting they even existed.

Blowing out a lungful of smoke, I gripped my hair as the two assholes that had been jogging the track slowly made their way back to the parking lot.

I huffed a humorless laugh at the memories of high school, looking back at the patient girl still sitting on the railing.

"Before I do this, I have a question of my own, Bella," I hedged, shrugging when she gazed at me. "You don't have to answer, but..."

"Edward, just ask."

"Why were you crying? Before we left, why?" I asked, assuming I knew the answer.

She smiled sadly, playing with the hem of her shorts, but looked up at me. "Alice admitted to me just before I left the room that she'd told you about Mike. I thought... Well, you know what I thought."

I nodded, because that confirmed my suspicions. "Would you have told me about him? Eventually?"

Her nose wrinkled at the same time that she shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe. I don't like to talk about him, so Alice kind of saved me on that part. What he did...the things... Well, they stuck with me. Sometimes, I feel weak for allowing him to get away with it for so long, and sometimes, I feel he was just being honest."

"I know," I sighed, nodding a little and dropping the cigarette butt to the ground. "And believe me, I get it. But I don't fucking pity you. Please know that much. If you trust anything I ever tell you, trust that." I waited until she nodded before saying, "You also need to know that you are none of the things he called you. None."

I could tell by the look on her face that she didn't quite believe that shit, and that was okay. I understood it, and I could certainly work with that. If I did anything good for Bella, then proving this asshole Mike wrong would be a damn good goal. Though, my dick had a long, twisted list of things he wanted to accomplish.

Shaking my head to clear it, I gazed around the school grounds again. "I thought I knew it all here. I had the fucking world by the balls," I started, smiling a little. "My parents did okay, so Rose and I had our own cars, a decent allowance, and really good friends."

"Ben and Angela," she supplied, smiling fondly.

I grinned. "I'm glad you liked them. They're good people."

"I miss them."

"Me, too."

I wanted to tell her that she'd see them again someday, but I wasn't so sure that was the truth. The Cheneys could be trusted, but the future was uncertain with Alice's and Bella's new identities.

Studying her face, I sighed. "You and me... We're a lot more alike than you think, Bella."

Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head, which made me chuckle.

"Trust me, we are." I nodded, shoving my hands into my pockets again. I didn't light another smoke. I knew Bella didn't really care for that shit, so I'd have to cut it down if I wanted more kissing. And yeah, totally needed more kissing. I fought my smile at that thought, but said, "You asked me about the ink on my back. If you still want to know, I'll tell you. I owe you that, Bella."

Something like recognition dawned across her pretty face, but she shook her head. "Edward, you said—"

"I know what I said, but I was scared. Plain and simple. I don't talk about it, but... You deserve to know why I'm fucked up. Why I'm so damn bitter. Until you."

"You aren't fucked up," she stated. "But I, of all people, should know that some stories are too hard to tell." She waved me forward, and I went to her without even thinking twice. She cupped my face as I stepped between her legs again. "Did she hurt you?" she asked in a whisper, her eyes raking warmly over my face.

"Yes." My voice was barely there, but Bella heard me.

"What was her name?"

"Maggie." The name came out easier than I'd expected.

"Did you love her?" she asked, her brow furrowing a little.

"I thought I did, yeah. But...now I'm not so sure," I told her, and it was as honest as I could get. It had been so long that whatever feelings I'd had for Maggie had turned into hate. Bitter, ugly hate.

"If you want to tell me, Edward, then go ahead, but I'm not making you," she finally said softly, leaning in to kiss my lips.

Something about that simple, sweet, chaste kiss relaxed me to my very bones. I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and stole one more kiss before backing away. Rubbing my face, I groaned, trying to think of the best way to start, but where we were was probably the best place – the beginning.

"Here," I said, pointing toward the school, "I was a big fish in a little pond. I played ball, had a girlfriend or two, partied. Rose kept me grounded. She was the more level-headed of the two of us, but she gets that from Dad." Bella smiled, but I went on. "We didn't go to the same college, so I was kind of lost at UW at first. Uncle Al had explained exactly what classes, what degree I needed, so I went in with a pretty set path. Becoming a marshal was all I wanted.

"I made friends in the dorms pretty quickly. My parents hadn't moved to Seattle yet, so I had to stay on campus. My roommate..." I huffed, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. "Randall – though, we all called him Randy – was one of those weed-smoking, beer bong-guzzling, man-whore musicians. I thought he was cool."

Bella snorted, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Right. I know. Idiot," I said with a chuckle, pointing a thumb my way. "I never smoked weed. I couldn't with what I wanted to do with my life, and I never really cared for the shit. But the rest? On it. Like a fly to honey." I frowned, thinking about how I wanted to explain, finally just going for it. "There were lots of parties, lots of girls, and lots of drinking. It was at a frat party that I met her. Maggie. She was a friend of Randy's. They were in a few music classes together. She was pretty, Randy said she was cool, and we hit it off."

I shrugged a shoulder, shuffling my feet. "We became boyfriend and girlfriend. Exclusive. You know?"

Bella nodded, slipping from the rail and taking a seat on the bleachers. I climbed up and over, plopping down next to her.

"Let me clarify... _I_ was exclusive. Not her," I said cryptically. "Though, I didn't know it at the time and I never really found out for how long."

"Oh, Edward," Bella groaned sadly.

"Told you we had a lot in common," I snorted, nudging her shoulder with my own. "And there's even more."

Bella laid her head on my upper arm, and I couldn't resist leaning down and kissing the top of her head. The smell of her shampoo – sweet flowers and fruit – grounded me, gave me focus that what I was talking about was a long time ago.

"Things were good – really good – for a while. Most of my freshman year, actually. I made new friends, partied, and I got this," I said, shifting us a little so that I could lift the sleeve of my shirt to tap the tattoo of the scales of justice on my upper arm. "I wasn't kidding. I was drunk when I got it, but I'd sort of wanted it for a long time. It just took alcohol to give me the courage, and Randy's friend was a tattoo artist, so it was done quickly. Mom was pissed, even more when I got the other one," I said with a grin, tapping the angel on my forearm. "And I also wasn't kidding that it was almost the Batman symbol."

Bella giggled, tracing the razor-like edges and then the scales themselves with a single finger. "You should totally add it."

"We'll see." I chuckled, shrugging a shoulder, because I certainly wasn't opposed to more ink. "I haven't thought about another tatt since this one." I pointed over my shoulder, and what had lightened up was now serious again.

"Anyway," I went on, "Maggie, Randy, and I hung out in our dorm. They'd smoke, I'd drink, and we all tried to get through classes. I was barely keeping my head above water with my grades, and I knew it was my social life. I couldn't admit it then, but I can now. Everything became about her. I'd shared everything – my car, money, food...hell, I even paid for her books one semester. I thought that I was taking care of my girlfriend, you know?"

Bella's eyes narrowed as she nodded slowly, and knowing she wasn't stupid, I could see her starting to piece shit together. "Go on," she said carefully, but she reached up to run her fingers through my hair.

I sat forward on the bleachers, my elbows resting on my knees as I stared out over the football field. "I swear to God, Bella. I didn't know they were using more than weed. And I didn't know they were using...me." I shook my head, rubbing the back of my neck. "Both Randy and Maggie were local students, meaning they were like me – from Washington. They were there on partial scholarships, and whereas I had parents that had planned for my education, they...didn't." I glanced over at her, and she was waiting patiently, though I recognized the angry look on her face. I'd worn the same one when Alice was telling me about Mike. I sniffed once and went on. "I knew they'd started selling drugs in order to make money. I tried to overlook it, but it's hard when there were knocks on the doors of my room at all hours. I should've told someone, but I didn't. Which was stupid as fucking hell, considering what I was going to school for! I thought I knew it all. I also couldn't bear the thought of Maggie getting into trouble. I protected her. And that, right there, was my biggest mistake." I held up a finger, smiling humorlessly at Bella.

"She knew I'd protect her, hide her, pay whatever debt she'd accumulated," I continued. "She exploited it." I sneered, biting on my bottom lip against the anger that this shit still brought up in me. "By the beginning of our sophomore year, things had gotten way out of hand. Maggie and I were fighting because I really fucking had to pull up my grades and keep them up. She was always high, but she knew how to work me – apologize, fuck with my heart and my body, and then go about doing the same shit." I snorted, shaking my head but looking over at Bella. "I'm a sucker for tears, Bella. I hate it. Can't fucking stand it. I'll do anything not to see the women I know cry."

Bella picked up my hand. "That's not a bad trait to have, Edward. It means you care. Even when maybe you shouldn't."

"Oh, hell, isn't that the truth," I sighed, sitting back against the bleacher seat behind me, but I kept Bella's hand in mine. I brought it to my lips, kissing the inside of her wrist. "I was starting to drown," I admitted. "Maggie's problems were dragging me down with her, and more than once, my parents asked me what was going on. They finally sent Uncle Al."

"Oh boy."

I laughed. "He's tough, yes. But he's always been able to get through my thick skull when no one else could. It's just the way he talks to me, the way he treats me." I smiled over at her. "He's the one that... Well, let's just say he read me like a book when it came to you."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Wait... What?"

"Later. Let me finish this, okay?" I snickered, mentally vowing to still punch my uncle in the face. Now it was for just being a wise-ass.

"Okay."

"He showed up one night out of the fucking blue, pounding on my door in the dorms. Scared the ever-lovin' shit outta Randy. Al snatched me up, shoved me into his car, and took me to dinner. He set me straight. Like really straight. He never mentioned Maggie, but he knew all about Randy. He knew about my grades, and he reminded me of the end goal. If I really wanted to work for him someday, I needed to get my head out of my ass."

"Did it work?" she asked with a smirk.

"A little. I started to back away from Randy. I'd study in the library as late as I could. Maggie didn't complain much, and that should've been my first clue." I paused for a moment, readying myself for the rest. "Several things happened just before Christmas break. I started noticing shit going missing in my room – radios, TVs, DVDs, CDs, even Randy's precious guitar had disappeared. Though, when I asked him about it, he said he'd left it in the music room across campus. The night before we were supposed to go home for the holidays, I was in the library writing a paper. Thinking I could finish at home here in Forks, I wrapped up earlier than usual." I squeezed Bella's hand, looking down at how our fingers were woven together. It just looked...right, and I knew I could finish this story. With a deep breath, I turned to face her, not letting go of that hand. It was a lifeline at this point. "On my walk back to the dorms, my dad called me, wanted to know what the hell I'd spent all my money on. The account he'd set up for me was completely empty. Fuck, not only empty, but in the damn red!"

"Oh no..."

"I swore to him that it wasn't me, that the last thing I'd bought was a few groceries the day before. I'd sent Maggie with my card, you see." A string of curses left the girl in front of me, and I nodded. "Exactly. Pretty much verbatim what I said. I told Dad I'd call him back, and I rushed to my room, where I found Randy...with Maggie."

"All on the same damn day?" Bella squeaked.

"Yeah." I rubbed my face with my free hand. "I lost it. Completely. Not only did I beat the fucking shit out of my roommate, but I called my dad – in front of Maggie, mind you – telling him that I'd been robbed, to press charges. He called Al...again. There was a shit-storm of cops that rained down on my dorm." I gazed out at nothing, remembering that night, but I must've been too quiet for too long because Bella's voice broke the silence.

"What did she do?"

"Sobbed, begged, pleaded, bargained," I said without inflection. "When that didn't work, she spat the most awful things at me – how I was a fool, how they'd planned it from the beginning because I had money, how I thought I was better than them and she hated me for it." I sighed, shaking my head. "I was a mark, a target. From the very start."

"What happened to them?" she asked, shifting so that she was practically in my lap, but I gave up trying to fight it and pulled her completely onto me, straddling my thighs.

"We were all arrested," I told her. "Randy was beat to shit, so they took me in on assault, though the charges were eventually dropped – totally Uncle Al's doing, I'm sure. Randy and Maggie were both taken in on larceny charges, but they were both holding, so they had possession charges tacked on, as well." I snorted a little. "I sent my girlfriend to jail. She did more than a year, if I'm not mistaken. Randy did more. They got him for possession with intent to sell. They'd owed some pretty bad people a lot of money, and they unraveled on each other in the interrogation room."

"Good," Bella grunted, her brow furrowing when she grasped either side of my face. "She was _not_ your girlfriend. She didn't deserve the title, Edward. And everything she did...she earned the result."

I nodded, looking down between us. "I know that now. I wanted it all with her, or so I thought. But what I didn't know was that I would've truly lost everything. I wouldn't have what I have now if I'd have continued on that path." I meant the amazing girl in my lap, but I wouldn't have her without my career, so it was a two-fold blessing in disguise.

"And the tattoo?" she asked me.

"The tattoo..." I sighed, sitting back a bit. "Well, I went home for Christmas, and Rose slapped me around for being an idiot. I got tested for everything under the fucking sun because I didn't trust anyone at that point. I didn't have to testify or anything because those two pled out to the D.A. But I took a look at my family when I was home...here in Forks...and realized that not only had I let them down, but I'd fucking let myself down. I ran, focused on the upcoming semester, and talked with my family – mainly my sister and Uncle Al – a lot. When I returned to school, I didn't live on campus this time; Al had found me a small place to rent. I'm still there, actually."

I smiled up at her, and I wanted to chuckle at the curiosity written all over her adorable face.

"Anyway, once I hit school, I did it with a new focus. Classes meant more than partying. And I ran into Garrett, the guy that inked me before. He's a good guy; you'd probably like him, the talented bastard. We had a few beers one night, and he told me that he'd heard all about Randy. We took our chat from the bar back to his apartment, and I told him that I wanted to forget about it all. On the coffee table were a few drawings, and this was one of them." I tapped my shoulder, pointing to my back. "We fucked around with it a bit, but it was when I asked him what it meant that I finally decided to do it."

"What's it mean?"

"Celtic knots have different meanings, but I kinda latched onto one in particular. My birth father was Irish, and so is my adopted father. Maybe my mom has a thing for tall, pale guys, I don't know," I joked, grinning when Bella giggled. "Anyway, the tri-knot means 'life, death, and rebirth.'"

"Like a phoenix," she stated in a whisper.

"Yeah, Garrett said something about that, rising up outta the ashes and all that shit."

"You're not an idiot, you know," Bella stated firmly. "She knew what she was doing. She knew how to use your good qualities against you."

"As did Mike."

She grimaced. "Touché, Edward." We were quiet for a moment, simply being, simply touching, but she locked gazes with me. "We both came out of college with hard lessons."

I studied her face for a moment, and fuck, she was just breathtaking sometimes. "I'm not a saint. I'd like to say that I was, that I treated women better, but I didn't. I'd been used, and I never really stopped being angry, so I—"

"Did the using," she finished for me. "It doesn't help, I know. It's kinda empty."

"It _was_." I leaned on the past-tense word, making sure she was looking at me. "It ends now. I think that's why I fought so hard. I don't want _that_ anymore."

"Me, either." She shook her head, leaning into my touch when I tucked her hair behind her ears. "It doesn't help that we don't know what'll happen, if we'll even make it."

"No one will touch you, of that I'm fucking certain, Bella. I swear it," I vowed to her. "I'll get you to Seattle or die trying."

She flinched at that, but looked down. "And once there?"

"That's the big question, isn't it?" I asked, waiting until she met my gaze before smiling. "I don't know, sweetheart. I just don't. There are rules Jasper and I are breaking with you and Alice, and I'm really not sure the two of us give a shit anymore. But you may get sick of me between now and then," I teased, but she barely cracked a smile as I rubbed the outside of her thighs. "All I know is that I can't give up before it's started, and I can't stay away from you anymore."

She smiled, slipped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. "Then don't. But please don't push me away again."

I was shaking my head before she had even finished that sentence. "I won't." I gazed out over the field, seeing the sun starting to set. Rubbing her legs and knowing the temperature would drop a little, I said, "We should head back."

She nodded and smiled, but made no move to get up. "Thanks for the tour, Edward. And thank you for telling me."

I kissed her once more, deeply, causing a moan from the two of us. Fuck, I wanted her like I'd never wanted anyone in my entire life, but I was determined to let her set the pace, despite the fact that my dick was so anxious to get closer to the beautiful girl on my lap that it felt like he would break the zipper of my jeans soon. Bella and I were both starting over with this shit, and I could tell we were both stumbling blindly into it.

I was finally able to pull myself away and walk her back to the car. I opened her door, raising an eyebrow at her. "Think the cable guy could've done better?"

Bella giggled, rolling her eyes at me, and sighed. "Nah, I _totally_ had _like_..._the_ hottest tour guide in town. For sure."

Fuck me, if I didn't puff up at that shit, despite the fact that she was teasing. "Damn straight, baby."

My girl was still giggling when I got in and cranked the engine.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Ah, such a sweet girl, Maggie. -.- Someone had mentioned way back about Maggie and how cliché it would be for her to have cheated, too. I'd laughed at the time, because it was so much more than that.**

**Now... The Celtic knot. I researched that particular design. It really does have more than one meaning. Mostly, it's religious connotations – Father, Son, Holy Ghost – that sort of thing. But the meaning that struck me the most was the Life, Death, and Rebirth aspect of the design. Edward had literally handed over his heart, body, soul...and wallet, and got completely ruined. The ink was not to remind himself of Maggie, but to motivate him to move on, to keep working toward the goal that meant something. I hope that clarifies some things for you.**

**Finally, a lot of you have questioned how wise it is for the group to go traipsing around Forks. We've mentioned it before, but we'll say it again. ;) It's been YEARS since Edward's folks lived in town. They don't come back to Forks, and they haven't really kept in touch with anyone. So even if people see him around town, it won't be a problem. Swear it. ;)**

**We don't have a rec for you this week, but I will tell you that Jenny and I are both donating to Fandom4Oklahoma. Mine is an outtake for _Hard to Love_. It's in Bella's POV. Jenny is just killing me with her one-shot. O_o Anyway, we'll post the information on our profile so if you want, you can donate. There's a ton of amazing writers on it, so check it out. It's for a really good cause.**

**Okay, we'll see you guys Wednesday for the teaser and again next Sunday for chapter 13. :) Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N #1: Once again, we have to thank you guys so very much! Your support of this story and us as writers has been incredibly amazing and humbling. A couple of Q/As this week...**

**For those worried that Edward isn't sure what he wants, what he means when he says things like he isn't sure where things will go when they get to Seattle...he isn't worried about himself and his feelings. He's worried about Bella and HER feelings. He is scared to put his whole self out there because he is sure that once Bella doesn't need his protection from the people in NY, she won't need him anymore and she'll realize her feelings were only because he was protecting her. Kind of a "Stockholm Syndrome" type of thing, although he's her savior, not her kidnapper. If that bothers you, pull up your big girl panties, because although their relationship will progress, that isn't a theme that will go away anytime soon. He's not doing it to be an ass or because he doubts HIS feelings. Much like canon, he is worried about HER feelings. ;)**

**Also, yes, there will eventually be a time jump. There will be several throughout the rest of the story – after Bella & Edward have had time to themselves. ;)**

**Okay, I've rambled on enough. Enjoy, and see Deb at the bottom! :) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 13**

**Bella POV**

It had been two days since Edward and I had... Declared ourselves sounded a bit outdated, but I supposed that's what it was. Two days since he'd told me he couldn't stay away from me any longer, two days since we'd kissed...and two days since we'd had any privacy. The minute we'd gotten back to the house, Alice had dragged me upstairs and ordered me to tell her everything.

"_Tell me, tell me, tell me," she said with a giggle as she pulled me into her room. "You look...happy."_

_I fell down onto her bed, sighing dreamily. "It was fun," I finally said, propping myself up on my elbows. "We went to the diner and had lunch. I met a handful of people he knew, including this one—"_

"_Bella!" Alice squeaked. "Get to the good stuff." She winked suggestively._

_Laughing, I shook my head. "We talked...a lot," I huffed, remembering the walk on the beach and Edward's story in the bleachers of the football field. "We have a lot in common – more than I realized, even. We have similar tastes in music and movies, and we both like to read, although he prefers murder mysteries." I shook my head, again thinking that was a little too close to home for me to be comfortable now. "He... His romantic past is...well, let's just say neither of us has had a healthy history of relationships."_

_Alice nodded, smiling sadly. "All Jasper told me was that Edward had been hurt in the past, so to cut him a little slack."_

_Thinking back to his story about Maggie, I nodded. "Yeah, that's a good way to put it." I wouldn't betray his trust by spilling the story of his college girlfriend, even to my sister, but I could tell by her expression that she knew it had been bad._

_We were quiet a moment, and then she asked, "So...did he kiss you?"_

Kissing... That's all we'd been able to do since getting back on Friday. It was as if Alice and Jasper had conspired to keep us apart. I knew they hadn't, really. Things had been tense for a while between Edward and me, which had affected everyone, so now that we were both happy and relaxed, the other two just wanted to spend time with us. But I was about to crawl out of my skin, wanting him to touch me.

"You're awfully quiet," the man himself said as he slid onto the couch beside me, handing me a bottle of water.

Shrugging, I smiled. Quietly, so Alice and Jasper – who were currently engaged in a discussion about whether or not they wanted to watch another movie – wouldn't overhear, I said, "Just thinking. Wishing we had some time by ourselves."

His breath caught and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his gaze was heated, and I felt like he was peering into my soul. His tongue darted out to trace his lips, wetting them, and then he leaned in and whispered into my ear, sending shivers through my body.

"Go change clothes – put on jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and sneakers – and then meet me out back."

"What? Why?" I'd do it, of course, but I wondered what plan he'd thought up.

"We're going to get some alone time," he said with a wink.

Nodding, I grinned and then jumped up, ignoring Alice's question of where I was going as I raced up the stairs.

Ten minutes later, I'd changed clothes and pulled my hair up into a ponytail and I was walking out the back door onto the deck.

Edward was leaning against the rail behind him, resting on his elbows, and he smiled as I closed the door.

"Cute," he said, playfully tugging on the hair hanging down my back. Then he leaned in and kissed me, a quick, chaste kiss, but one that promised good things if I was patient.

"What'd you tell the others?" I asked with a giggle as I thought about Alice's thumbs up when I passed through the living room.

"Just that we're going on a hike in the woods and they weren't allowed to come." Edward looked pretty proud of himself.

I laughed. "A hike? Really?"

He nodded. "I used to love to explore out there, and there's somewhere I want to show you." Looking uncertain, he said, "If that's okay, I mean. We can always just go into town or something to get away from the house."

Shaking my head, I leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. "A hike is fine, Edward. Really. I'm not as clumsy as I used to be, but I may have to hold your hand so I don't fall," I teased.

Edward chuckled and took my hand. "I would carry you on my back if I had to," he promised, leading me off the porch.

Even though it was sunny out, walking into the trees was almost spooky. It was much darker once we were actually in the forest itself, the ground and air in shade from all the tall, dense greenery of the trees. I heard birds and small animals all around us, and somewhere in the distance, I could barely make out the sounds of water.

"You know where we're going, right?" I asked, a little nervous about getting lost in the forest, our bodies never found.

"I do," he answered, squeezing my hand. "It's pretty straightforward from the house to the spot I'm thinking of. Plus..." With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "I told Jasper where we'd be, and I can get him with this if we need him. We're safe, Bella, I promise."

"I know," I murmured. "I trust you."

His answering grin was breathtaking, and then he squeezed my hand again. "Come on, now. It's just over a mile in, but it'll be worth it."

Forty-five minutes later, I wasn't so sure, but when he finally pulled me through a last clump of trees, I gasped.

The meadow was small and round, between fifty and seventy-five feet across, and perfectly round. It was filled with the most beautiful wildflowers I'd ever seen – shades of violet, yellow, and a soft white that seemed almost a relief against all the other colors. The sun was shining down on this untouched piece of land that was somehow free of trees, and I could hear a stream somewhere close by.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, not wanting to disturb the peace of the place.

Edward nodded. "Come on," he said, tugging on my hand and leading me toward the center. "We can sit and take a break for a while."

I grinned, having an idea that "taking a break" wouldn't mean just sitting there. I was proven right when Edward dropped to the ground and tugged my hand, pulling me off-balance.

"Eep!" I squeaked, but then I giggled when he caught me and helped me climb onto his lap so I was straddling him.

"Mm, that's better," he purred, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.

The moment his lips touched mine, I forgot everything – the meadow, Alice and Jasper...everything. His lips were firm, but soft...insistent, even, as he pulled my hair free of the band holding it up so he could slide his fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck.

Edward was in control, guiding me with his hands as his tongue gently pressed against my lips, parting them to move against my own in a hot, slippery slide that left me breathless. He groaned, suddenly moving us together until I was on my back with him hovering over me. He had one hand behind my head, cushioning it against the hard ground, and the other was propping him up.

"Christ, you're beautiful," he huffed as he pulled away to look down at me. "Is this okay? Are you comfortable?"

Letting my actions speak for themselves, I nodded as I dragged my hands up his arms and laced them around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss as I hooked my legs around his thighs, urging him down.

With a groan, he lowered himself until he was pressed against me fully, and then his lips were on mine once more.

The kisses were drugging, stealing my breath even as he gave me his own. I was panting, trembling under his touch, but my entire body was screaming for more. My heart was thumping so loudly, I was sure he would hear it. I kissed him with a desperate longing, needing him more than I'd ever needed anyone.

When he rolled his hips above me, I cried out, breaking our kiss. "Oh, God!"

Edward chuckled, his breath warm against my neck as he opened his lips against my skin, tasting me. He moved again, thrusting gently with his hips as he sucked the skin of my neck between his lips, and I felt myself growing even more wet.

"Fuck," I gasped. "More, E-Edward!"

His voice was a purr at my ear as he said, "Will you come for me, Bella? I want to see you fall apart, out here where you can let go with no one but the two of us around."

I whimpered as he rolled his hips again, over and over. The fly of his jeans pressed against the seam of my own, and when he sucked my lower lip into his mouth and bit down at the same time as he thrust hard below, I shattered, crying out as my body tightened and released in time with his thrusts.

Edward was finally still, kissing me slowly, gently, with soft sweeps of his lips back and forth over mine until I could breathe again.

"Beautiful," he murmured in a rough voice. "Let's go back to the house. I'm going to lock us in the room upstairs if I have to."

"Mmm," I agreed with a languid smile. "Sounds perfect."

With one last kiss, Edward climbed to his feet and held out his hand, helping me to stand. After he brushed off the dirt, grass, and leaves clinging to my back and hair, he took my hand again and began to lead me back the way we'd come.

"Can we come back?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at the beautiful meadow.

Edward smiled and answered, "Anytime you want."

~oOo~

The hike back to the house took a little longer than it had to get to the meadow – whether because I was tired of walking or because we were delaying the return to the sometimes much-too-crowded house, I didn't know. By the time we got there, I was ready to kick off my shoes and give my feet a break.

I was also ready for a shower.

"I'm gonna take a shower and change clothes when we get inside. I'm itchy from lying in the grass," I told Edward, shaking my head in amusement when he grinned proudly.

"Sounds good." He leaned in and kissed me once. "I'm gonna have a smoke – but only one," he amended when he saw my grimace. "Quitting's a bitch," he grumbled, "but I'm tryin', I swear."

Nodding, I kissed him again and mumbled against his lips, "Come find me when you're done."

Edward opened the door for me and poked his head in, listening for a moment, and then ushered me inside with a hand on my lower back before closing the door behind me.

I watched him turn away, pulling his cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket, and then I moved through the kitchen. A note on the fridge caught my eye.

_Ed,_

_I'm taking my girl out. We're having dinner at The Lodge and then may catch a movie. Call if you need me._

_J_

We were alone?

_We were alone!_

Hurrying my ass up the stairs, I forgot about my sore feet as I raced to the bathroom attached to my – Edward's – bedroom. I tossed my clothes into the basket to be washed and then looked in the mirror. My hair was clean enough, so I ran a brush through it to make sure I didn't have any grass or leaves in it and then pulled it up into a bun before jumping into the shower. I quickly washed the dirt and sweat from our hike, glad I'd shaved earlier that morning so I didn't have to worry about it.

Once I was clean, I hopped out, drying myself and then wrapping the towel around my body. Back in the bedroom, I tried to decide what to wear.

Just a robe? No... "Too forward and slutty," I grumbled to myself.

Fully clothed? "Yeah, from one extreme to the other." I huffed as I stared at my dresser, finally deciding on a pair of panties and a dark blue USMS T-shirt that had been Edward's before I'd stolen it from the clean clothes as I was folding them from the dryer. This was the first time I'd wear it in front of him – I'd been sleeping in it until now – but it was long enough that it came to mid-thigh, which was perfect.

I was combing through my hair with my fingers when Edward surprised me by knocking on the open door.

When I turned, he was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed and eyes moving over my body slowly, pausing at the sight of his shirt. I could see him visibly swallow and he groaned softly, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment, which gave me time to look him over. He'd showered and changed, as well, now wearing a pair of cotton athletic shorts and no shirt or shoes, showing off his gorgeous muscles and his ink.

"Bella," he started, his voice seductive, "where did you get the shirt?"

I smiled as I crooked my finger in a come-hither motion. "I stole it when it was my turn to do laundry," I told him, my own voice breathy. "I figured you wouldn't mind."

He shut the door and then moved to me, reminding me of a panther stalking its prey. When he reached me, he pulled me to him, one hand in the hair at my neck and the other sliding down my back to cup my ass.

"No," he huffed with a shake of his head. "I don't mind a damn bit. In fact, it's pretty fucking sexy."

With his hand, he angled my head and then pressed his lips to mine. I whimpered as the minty taste of his lips and tongue made my mouth tingle.

My breasts were pressed against his chest, my soft curves against the hard planes of his chest and stomach. I could feel the ridge of his erection against my stomach, making me ache to my very core.

"Come to bed," I whispered against his lips, taking a step back.

Edward walked me backward to the bed, his lips on mine the whole way, and as I climbed up into the center of the mattress, he followed, hovering over me but not touching until he finally lowered himself to rest between my legs.

I reached up and pulled his head down to mine, brushing soft, tender kisses over his lips as my hands explored the muscles on his shoulders and down his back. After a moment, he took control of the kiss, deepening it, drawing out both our pleasure with his lips and tongue.

When we finally pulled apart to breathe, his hands moved down to guide my shirt up. "Sit up," he commanded softly, tugging at the material when it wouldn't go farther.

Once I was holding myself up on my hands, Edward pulled the shirt over my head and I slipped it off my arms, falling back to the pillows as he tossed it to the floor.

"Fuck, Bella," he growled, sliding back down over me and propping himself up on one elbow while tracing a line up my sternum with his finger. "Look how your body responds to me."

I gasped, closing my eyes as he circled my nipple. I could feel it pucker even further under his touch.

"Open your eyes, Bella. I want you to see how beautiful, how sexy you are."

His tone brooked no argument, so I forced my lids open, gazing at his face and then down to my chest, where he moved from one nipple to the other, circling it and then gently squeezing it with his thumb and forefinger.

"See this?" he questioned, leaning down to place an open-mouthed kiss to the puckered tip. "These tell me you love my touch, that you want more."

I nodded, my whole body tingling and screaming for more. I spread my legs wantonly, arching my hips, desperate for more.

"Mmm," he hummed. "If you're this sweet here—" he swiped at my nipple with his tongue, sucking gently once "—then I can only imagine how sweet you are here..." His hand moved down to cup me possessively over my panties.

"God, Edward," I moaned, bucking my hips into his palm.

He hissed, pressing the heel of his hand into me. "Christ, you're so hot, so wet...even through these." His fingers rubbed over the silky fabric of my panties. "May I?" he asked as he tugged gently at them.

Unable to speak, I nodded fervently, biting my lower lip. It had been...way too long since anyone had put their mouth on me. Most of the time, the guys I was with were more concerned about me going down on them or just a quick fuck, not worrying about my pleasure.

Edward kissed me sweetly once more before moving down my body. My hand in his just-long-enough hair guided him down as he kissed my chin, the upper curves of both breasts, and my stomach, swirling his tongue around my navel for a moment and nibbling at the ticklish skin there. When he reached the edge of my panties, he kissed one hip bone, trailing his tongue along the lace to the other side, giving a gentle nip to the skin. Then he hooked his fingers in the sides and pulled them down and over my feet, tossing them to the floor with my shirt.

I fisted the blanket in my hands as he just sat on his heels, looking at me. I could feel how wet I was, and I was sure he could see it. Before that thought could make me feel self-conscious, Edward moved to his stomach, pulling my legs up over his biceps and holding me flat to the mattress with his hands on my hips.

"I have to taste you," he murmured, lowering his head before I could protest.

The first swipe of his tongue on the outer lips of my pussy had me crying out and bucking my hips to his mouth. He held me still and lapped again and again, gently teasing the tender skin with his tongue and teeth. With a moan, he reached down with his long fingers to part my lower lips.

I writhed against his touch as he tasted me, his tongue swirling around my clit and down to my entrance, dipping inside before moving back up and repeating the circle over and over again. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he moved one hand back around and followed his tongue with his finger, finally sliding it inside me.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I chanted, gasping for breath.

When he curled his finger and wrapped his lips around my clit, sucking hard at the little bud, I cried out and shuddered as I came with an explosive climax.

Edward continued stroking me with his tongue even as he slid his fingers gently from my still-pulsing body, tasting everything I was giving him as I came down from my orgasm.

"Mm," he hummed, finally sliding back up my body to lie beside me on the bed. "You are stunning when you come...and you look—" he huffed, shaking his head "—amazing in my bed."

I laughed, turning over on my side to face him. "I'm sure I'm not the first."

He shook his head quickly. "No, you are, Bella, I swear it." Wrapping his arm around me, he pulled me close.

Feeling my heart swell, I sighed, leaning in to kiss his jaw and bury my face in his neck. "Good," I mumbled into his skin, feeling his chuckle vibrate through me.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

_Pull your knees to your chest...hold it... And stretch them out...hold it..._

My sweaty forehead thumped to the fridge door as the sounds of that evil yoga woman continued to torture my ass from the other room. It was tempting as all hell not to pour the entire contents of the bottle of water over my head...or down my shorts. Either would work.

That was a lie. Nothing worked – cold showers, running, rubbing one out almost on an hourly basis. Nothing. I stayed hard for Bella. And it was only exacerbated by how beautifully she responded to everything I said or did. I wanted her with a slow-burning fire in the pit of my stomach. I literally ached for her, but Jasper's words rattled around my head on a continuous loop. Bella wasn't the women from the bar. She was different. She was _more_. And I was determined to show her that.

We both had fucked-up pasts with relationships, and neither of us had been exactly innocent since then. I didn't just want a quick fuck, so I was denying myself her touch in order to learn her, take my time with her. My dick, on the other hand – again, literally – wanted instant gratification. He was an impatient bastard.

Squeezing my eyes closed at the memory of her taste, the feel of her fingers in my hair guiding me, urging me on... And holy mother of fuck, the mere memory that I'd had her sprawled out in my old bed – where no girl had been before, not even when I'd been in high school – just did something to me. I had to slow shit down or else I'd most likely crack her in two with my want for her.

"Fuck," I hissed to myself, downing the rest of the bottle of water and reaching into the fridge for another one.

I stood in front of the open refrigerator, letting the cold air hit the bare sweaty skin of my chest from my run in order to calm the hell down. I glanced up when Jasper slowly guided a limping Alice to the kitchen table.

"What happened? Pull somethin'?" I teased her, laughing when she flipped me off with her small-ass middle finger.

"Cramp!" she growled, batting at Jasper's hands.

"Walk it off, darlin'," he soothed her, smirking at her temper.

I chuckled at the two of them, reaching up to grab a banana off the counter. "Here, shorty. Eat this," I told her, raising an eyebrow when she glared at me. I had a feeling she was about to tell me to eat something. "Shut up and eat it. You need potassium."

She sighed in defeat, nodded, and fell down into a chair, where Jasper immediately picked up her leg and started to massage her calf. Alice took the banana with a mumbled thanks and started to peel it, but my ears caught the TV from the living room.

_Arch up off the floor, hold it for a count of ten. One, two, three..._

I sent a silent, pleading glance Jasper's way, and he grinned, jerking his chin toward the living room, telling me without words that he'd keep Alice occupied for a moment. Some shit never fucking changed; that was how we used to work in the bars. However, if Alice and Jasper were in here, then Bella was alone, still doing yoga, wearing really small, tight shorts and a sports bra. That's it. I knew this because that outfit sent me on the run in the first fucking place.

Stepping quietly into the den, I shook my head at the sight before me. Bella was all concentration, glistening in sweat, her ponytail skimming the ground. I licked my lips at all that bare midriff skin exposed, stretched and toned.

Bella arched up again into a back-bend, her eyes closed. I knelt stealthily beside her, leaning slowly down to press kisses to the skin of her belly. She squeaked, fumbling a little.

"This position looks familiar," I teased her, licking just outside her navel and catching her bottom before she could fall. "Ah, ah, ah, Bella. You have to hold it."

"Edward..."

"Hold it like she says, baby," I whispered against her skin. "One," I said, nipping at her right hip bone, then her left, only to swirl my tongue in her bellybutton, counting off with each kiss I pressed to her salty skin. I wanted to laugh by the time I called out, "Ten," simply because Bella's arms and legs were shaking. When she was flat on her back again, I hovered over her.

"Edward, what are you doing?" she asked with an almost exasperated giggle, but I could see how her eyes drank me in. I wasn't blind; I knew she liked how I looked after a run, for whatever reasons.

Licking my lips at the sight of her, I shook my head. "Something I've wanted to do since you two found these fucking DVDs. So don't you dare stop, beautiful."

I had to give credit where it was due. Bella held onto the next back-bend like a champ, considering my fingers did the touching this time – from hip bone to hip bone just above the waistband of her shorts, around her navel, and up the inside of each thigh, stopping just shy of where I could feel the heat radiating from between her legs.

There was a perverted, twisted side of me that was enjoying watching her falter, tremble, whimper. That same side of me want to be beneath her with every move she did next. The coherent, logical part of me knew I was playing with fire. I was just about to back off the teasing until the bitch on the TV spoke up.

_Onto your stomach and toes...and lunge. Hold it..._

Fuck, I was a weak man. Bella's body surged forward in a position not unlike a push-up – everything taut, everything stretched, and everything...right there – her back to me. My body shifted, lining up right behind her, my mouth at the sweet slope where her neck met her shoulder. I tried so hard not to think of how badly I wanted her in this position – hell, any position for that matter.

"Jesus, Bella," I whispered, dropping an open-mouthed kiss to her neck. "Do you even know how beautiful you are?"

Dark, heated eyes glanced over her shoulder, and I almost unraveled right there. But it was the disbelieving wrinkle to her brow that kept my mouth going. The sadistic bitch on TV was long forgotten.

Nuzzling her cheek with my nose, I forced her hips down to the floor with my own, grinding the proof of what she did to me into that delectable ass of hers. My dick practically throbbed in celebration of at least _some_ friction. Needy bastard.

"_Feel_ what you do to me," I hissed, holding my upper body above hers, my arms on either side of her shoulders. "Do you feel it? I'm like this all the time, Bella. I've been this way for weeks. Feel it?" I practically growled against the soft spot behind her ear.

She shifted beneath me, rolling onto her back and her hands making purchase on my shoulders. "I can help with that, you know." She smiled as she dragged her tongue sexily along her bottom lip.

Grinning, I shook my head. "Not yet. Soon, Bella. I'm a weak motherfucker, but this..." I sighed, sitting back onto my knees and she followed me like a magnet. Motioning between us as she sat up on her knees in front of me, I said, "This is different. This isn't just a...an itch that needs scratching."

Her face fell a bit, but I cupped it in both hands, kissing her. Dragging my lips across hers slowly, I finally turned my head, raking my tongue along her bottom lip, not unlike how I'd kissed that unbelievably sweet pussy a few days ago. She granted me entrance, giving just as good as she got. Bella's kisses were addictive and made me stupid, forgetting we were in the middle of the living room. Wrapping one arm around her, I pulled her to straddle my thighs, my mouth never leaving hers. Slipping my fingers of one hand into her hair, the other stilling her hips, I pulled back with a gasp for air.

"Look at me," I said, a little harsher that I'd intended, but her long eyelashes swept up to reveal those stunning brown eyes. "I'm not saying no, Bella. I'm saying wait. I want to savor you. Understand?"

"Yeah," she panted, licking her lips.

"I don't think you do," I countered, leaning into her neck and placing a long, slow kiss. "Bella, when you finally touch me, my resolve to take this slow will crumble. I can barely control myself right now. I want you sure of this...sure of me."

I wasn't fucking stupid; I'd been a real dick up until a few days ago. I needed to prove to Bella and myself that I was worthy of her trust, her affections. I needed to prove to her that I wasn't Mike, looking to break her down to nothing. I needed to prove to myself that what I'd had with Maggie was an apparition – a mere specter in comparison to how much I wanted the girl currently running her fingers through my sweaty hair. But more than all of that, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the second that gorgeous girl touched me, I'd be a changed man. I could feel it happening already. And it felt...fucking amazing. I really didn't want to fuck up.

I must've said that last thing out loud, because Bella giggled softly. "You won't fuck up."

I raised an eyebrow at her, which only caused her to laugh harder. "Truly, we haven't met. I'm Edward Cullen."

"Stop it," she ordered, still laughing her ass off. "Okay, fine, so we'll both probably make mistakes, Edward."

Grinning at her sweet giggle, I shrugged, allowing that. "Oh, I'll make mistakes. Bank on it. Everything outside my job is just plain...fuckery, Bella." When she looked at me like I was crazy, I went on, ticking off my bad points on my fingers. "I drank too much, ran around too much, and my family... I was always late, if I didn't blow off functions altogether. Before I got this assignment, I'd gone almost a month without seeing my parents. I mean, I'd had a fugitive recovery assignment, but it didn't last a damn month."

"You shouldn't do that," she sighed sadly, wrinkling her nose a little as she tilted her head at me. "You never know when, all of a sudden, they won't be there."

I kissed the sadness away from her brow, whispering, "Exactly my point. I've been really, really selfish with my life. I don't want that here."

She smirked, pressing her lips to mine before standing up from my lap. "You're allowed certain moments of selfishness, you know," she said with a sexy-as-hell lilt to her voice. Before I could take back all that I'd said, yanking her back down onto my pouting dick, she asked, "We're still going to the beach?"

"Yeah, definitely. We can go in a few hours, hang out until nightfall. The reservation always sets off fireworks for the Fourth of July."

There was a childlike glow to her eyes at the mention of that. And I stood up in front of her, willing my libido down because she looked sweetly excited.

"Go get ready, and don't forget to drag your sister with you. Jasper and I will pack a cooler. Okay?" I told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she nodded against my lips.

I turned away from her, but she stopped me, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind. I stiffened a bit when I felt her lips press to the ink on my back.

"I know what you're doing, Edward," she whispered.

I could feel the tip of her nose trace every swirl, every line on my back, and the difference between the last time someone did that to now was almost staggering, causing my breathing to hitch. Instead of cringing away, I leaned back into it, my dick harder than ever.

"I'm not stupid. You're not _him_, and I'm not _her_." Her voice was soothing, calm, if not a little amused.

Rubbing her arms that were secured around my waist, I linked our fingers together. I sighed contentedly before I turned to face her. "You're right, which is why I'm trying my damnedest to do shit different, Bella. Please." I kissed her mouth that quirked up into a small smile. "Go get ready, you tempting thing. I can't imagine what swimsuit you'll torture me with, so we'd better let the pain begin."

Bella laughed, backing away from me while gesturing up and down my body. "Right, because you in board shorts is _so_ fucking innocent."

I growled playfully at her, lunging her way, but she took off at a run, calling for Alice. I shook my head, still grinning like a fool. I actually couldn't wait to see her at the beach, but even more, I couldn't wait to claim her, to show that she was mine in front of old friends and strangers once we were there.

~oOo~

I blew out a heavy puff of smoke, leaning back against the rock behind me. From my position, I could pretty much see the entire beach. The sun would be setting soon, and we'd been there most of the afternoon. The weather had played nice, the sun coming to chase away the clouds.

I'd forgotten how popular First Beach was for fireworks. It was a pretty big deal for the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve. My family had come every year when we'd lived in Forks.

From where I was, I could see my old friends, Paul and Embry, showing the girls and Jasper what happened when driftwood was lit. The colors from the dried saltwater made for an unusual fire. They were good guys, a little rough around the edges, but they were both married now, still living on the rez. They'd been a hell of a lot of fun to party with back in high school.

In fact, this was the largest crowd of people the girls had been around since we'd taken this WitSec detail. And this was probably the safest place they could be. The rez was its own little world, separate from the rest of society. They had their own legends, laws, and schools. Sue, who we'd met at the diner the day I'd given Bella a tour, was married to Harry Clearwater, and he had been in charge for as long as I could remember.

I took another long drag from my cigarette, mentally groaning when I saw who was approaching.

"The ink looks hot on you, Edward," Claire said, eye-fucking me like we were still in homeroom together. "It makes you look like totally dangerous. What do you do now?"

I smirked at that. "Law enforcement," I stated, not elaborating for many, many reasons but loving watching her squirm, because I wasn't fucking blind. She'd been with a group of people all damn day, passing around a joint at the far end of the beach.

She fidgeted nervously but recovered well, most likely realizing that if she were in trouble, it would've already happened. Yeah, there was history between us. Sad part was, there was history between Claire and a lot of people – Embry and Paul included. Back then, she'd been willing, so who was I at seventeen to turn that shit down? I took another drag on my cigarette, wanting to finish it quickly and get back to Bella. But I studied Claire for a moment. Life looked like it had been fairly difficult for her. She looked older, tired, sad – something I hadn't noticed when we'd run into her at the diner.

I'd been so focused on Bella that to see Claire – a blatant reminder of my sexual history – was something I wasn't prepared for. My eyes drifted to the girl in question as Claire babbled away about people we knew in school, what they were doing, who was already married, divorced, and parents. Her speech pattern and incessant chatter was annoying. Some shit never changed.

I fought my smile when Paul caught my eye. He grinned, leaned over to Bella, and jerked his chin my way. What I wasn't prepared for was Bella's laughter when she saw who was talking to me. However, with a confidence I wasn't expecting, she started up the bank toward me.

Bella – and Alice, for that matter – had been on the receiving end of appreciative stares all damn day. Jasper had taken in all in stride, with the laid-back attitude he'd always carried. After I'd done my own share of ogling at two very small pieces of blue bikini, I'd practically pissed on Bella's leg by kissing her right there on the beach. And a few more stolen ones when we went in the water, not to mention a grope or two.

Claire's speech faltered as Bella came up to me. I could feel the jealousy rolling off her in waves.

"Hi, beautiful," I said, smiling in spite of it all. I held up the almost finished cigarette. "Sorry."

Bella grinned, placing a hand on my chest, and kissed me. "Rome wasn't built in a day, Edward," she whispered teasingly against my lips. "Your friend Paul told me to come find you. Said you could show me the tide pools?"

"Yeah, definitely," I said with a nod, bending down to stub the butt out in the wet sand. I turned to Claire, who was trying not to glare, but she was failing miserably. "Bella, you remember Claire," I said, dragging my fingers down Bella's spine. She'd pulled a tiny pair of denim shorts on over her swimsuit bottoms but still had the top uncovered.

"It's good to see you again, Claire," Bella said sweetly, her smile genuine, but it was the possessive hand on my abs that made me smile.

"You, too!" Claire gushed in a squeal, but the smile was fake as shit. "Edward and I were totally catching up on everyone from school." She turned to me, eyeing my hand as it twirled Bella's ponytail. "Tell Rose I said hello, okay?"

"Sure thing," I said with a chuckle to my voice and then wrapped an arm around Bella to guide her away from the beach. "My sister couldn't care less about Claire's hello. They hated each other in school, so Rose's reply would be for her to go fuck herself," I whispered in Bella's ear.

Bella laughed, glancing up at me as we walked along.

"What did Paul really say?" I asked Bella with a snort.

"That I needed to save you from her. He said to come ask you about the tide pools before she had a chance to sink her claws into you." Bella giggled, shooting a glance over her shoulder. "Everyone got a ride on that, didn't they?"

I stopped, laughing so hard that I had to bend over. "True story, B." When I straightened up, she was smirking at me, her eyebrow raised up dangerously. "I was seventeen, Bella!" I defended, shrugging. "No teenage boy would turn down the willing."

"True, but watch out... Your friends say she's now a single mom...looking for _daddy_."

My eyebrows shot up, and I spun around to look back toward the beach. "No shit?"

"None whatsoever," she said with a chuckle. "It pays to be quiet and listen. People _like...totally _forget you're there."

"Fuck, Bella. Stop that. It was bad enough having to endure an entire conversation listening to that bullshit. I get it."

Bella cracked up. "Just keeping you on your toes, Edward," she said, leaning into the kiss I placed on her temple before guiding her toward the tide pools. "It's really pretty here. The people are sweet. Sue is adorable."

I grinned. "I loved it here as a kid." I tugged her to the first tide pool, which was on the other side of the beach. "Here," I told her, reaching in to pull out a starfish for her.

"Wow, that's amazing," she whispered, gently putting the creature back, only to poke around in the water. "So, what? The tide rolls in but brings in enough water and food to maintain these little pools?"

"Yeah, exactly."

I studied her as she continued to play around in the water. She was such a stark contrast to not only the girl we'd just brushed off, but just about every woman that I'd ever been with. Bella was smart – brilliant, really – and so damned beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. She was fragile, but at the same time so very fucking strong. My eyes drifted down to her shoulders that had turned an adorable shade of pink. Reaching over, I pressed down to test how badly she'd burned.

"You got some sun," I murmured, replacing my finger with my lips. Fuck, I couldn't keep away from her if I tried. And I wondered how I'd survived the first few weeks without touching her.

She snickered, turning to face me. "This is nothing. I lived in Florida, remember?" she asked, and I nodded. "One time, my parents took us to Daytona. Alice and I were burnt to a crisp – like lobster-red – because the suntan lotion kept washing off. It was awful. Even worse when we started to peel. I felt like a lizard shedding its skin."

I chuckled, bracing my arms on either side of her on the tide pool rock. "How old were you?"

"Eight or nine." She giggled, shaking her head. "Alice and I would take turns peeling each other. It itched so bad!" Her smile fell a little. "Thank you for today. We haven't been to the beach in years. I'd forgotten how much I like it."

I grimaced a little as I watched her commit another thing to memory from her past so she wouldn't lose it. Knowing the girls the way I did now, I was pretty sure that day at the beach was caught on film and on my laptop back at the house.

I glanced over Bella's shoulder toward the beach. The sun had set, and I could see Embry starting to set up for the fireworks. It was dark where Bella and I were, the bonfires casting off enough shadows to pretty much hide us away. It was that thought – the thought that no one could see us – that made me kiss her, touch her, grind into her. My tongue swept along her bottom lip, only to claim her mouth almost roughly. I'd felt it all today – jealousy from men ogling her, pride that she was mine, and the desire to fuck her in every way imaginable. It was that last thought, that last shred of control that made me pull back.

"We should get back. It's getting dark," I whispered against her lips.

"I don't want to," she whispered back, her eyes dark as her fingers trailed over my bare torso and around the waist of my board shorts. She toyed with the tie, but her eyes were locked with mine.

"Bella..." I warned her, but it was half-assed at best. I leaned into her, if only to trap her hand between us. "What do you want?" I asked, but from the look on her face, I knew.

Maybe the twisted fucker inside of me just wanted to hear it, because I was a blink away from giving in to anything she asked of me. Hell, my dick had given Bella his undivided attention all damn day. He was nothing if not determined.

Bella leaned up, one of her hands gripping the back of my neck, but the other hadn't stopped playing with the tie on my shorts. "I want to _touch _you," she stated against my lips before kissing me senseless.

"Here?" I asked stupidly.

She giggled, but damn, that shit was sexy. "No, _here_," she said, rubbing me on the outside of my shorts. "Let me help with this, Edward," she urged. "Be selfish, just once."

Pressing my forehead to hers, I panted heavily at the feel of her pressing where I needed it the most. My mouth hung open a bit as my mind tried to find an excuse not to, but she felt too good, it had been too long since someone had touched me, and I wanted Bella way too much to find a reason to tell her no.

"I get why we're waiting," she told me, nodding a little. "I just... I want to savor you, too. Plus, since _someone_ forgot to mention their birthday, I owe you a present."

If Bella was the devil, I'd gladly sell my soul, walking into hell without shame. My resolve to hold back shattered when she kissed me while undoing my shorts. I hissed the second her hand made contact with my very eager dick at the same time her teeth scraped against the skin of my neck. She let out a sultry hum when I twitched in her hand as it moved slowly up and down my shaft, giving an amazing fucking twist around my head. I forgot my damn name when her thumb gathered what was leaking from me already. When she brought it to her mouth and sucked off what glistened there before gliding her hand back down my shaft, I groaned, feeling myself twitch in her hand. If she wasn't careful, this shit would be over way too quickly.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I rambled. "Bella, what are you..."

She sank to her knees in the sand in front of me, which essentially hid her from view should anyone who happened to look our way. Eyeing my now-freed cock like it was her next meal, she merely raised an eyebrow at me.

"I mean, I _know _what you're doing... But fuck, Bella, you don't have to," I sputtered, sounding like a damn kid about to get head for the first time.

Bella leaned in, smiling against my stomach. "Are you always so nervous when you're about to get a blow job?"

"Fuck, you can't say shit like that," I grunted, unable to tear my eyes away from her as her tongue dragged up the underside of my shaft, only to swirl around the tip.

She placed a kiss to the end, suckling a bit, her hand continuing to move up and down with the perfect amount of pressure. My head fell back, my breathing coming in pants.

"Edward, look at me," she commanded, and I did. She dragged her tongue across the slit, seemingly savoring the taste, which only made me twitch that much harder in her hand. "You've made me come twice. Why?" she asked, like she knew the answer.

"You're fucking stunning when you come. And fuck, you were so damn wet..."

"Mmhmm," she hummed around me, which didn't help my control situation whatsoever, her eyes still on mine. "Exactly. _My_ turn, baby."

Any granule of ability to stop her fell away when she called me that _and_ called me out on why she was about to suck my cock. Gone. I had...nothing left. I wanted it too badly, had fantasized way more than I should have, and she felt so fucking good. I was a weak, weak man.

"Sweet Jesus," I groaned when her mouth finally sank down around me.

Her mouth was so hot, wet, and felt like fucking heaven. She took most of me, her hand making up the difference, which only added to how good she felt. My hands twitched at my sides, and she solved my problem about where to put them. Reaching up with her free hand, she set one on her head. She moaned long and hard around me when I gripped her hair, guiding her but not pushing.

Her hands and mouth did shit to me that made me encourage her in incoherent sentences. She sucked, cupped, squeezed, licked, and hummed. It beat anything my own hand could do. My showers would be worthless now. Nothing was as good as her mouth around me.

"So good, so good. Fuck, Bella. Baby, I'm gonna..." I squeezed my eyes closed, trying my damnedest to stave off my release, but the very second I locked with those dark, not-so-innocent eyes gazing up at me, I was fucking done.

My balls tightened, the burn in my lower back and stomach increased, and my legs practically buckled as she sped up everything, knowing I was about to blow it all. What caused everything to snap was when she sank down around me and I could feel the back of her throat swallowing. My release was violent and fast, causing stars to flash behind my eyes at the same time fireworks popped loudly from across the beach. That shit was fitting, no lie. Best blow job. Ever.

Bella sweetly helped me right my shorts, simply because my hands were still shaking, and then she brushed her knees off. As soon as she stood in front of me, I kissed her. Hard. I could taste myself on her tongue, which caused a moan of possessiveness to rumble out of me. Pressing my forehead to hers, I kept my eyes closed until I could get my shit together, finally opening them to see my slightly unsure girl back.

"They've started the fireworks," she said softly, running her fingers through my hair.

"What fireworks?" I whispered, smirking at her sweet, soft giggle. "Thank you," I said suddenly. "That was..." I shook my head to clear it, trying not to think too hard about how she'd gotten so good at that.

My theory was that the assholes like Mike made her do it. He sounded like a selfish prick, so I'd be willing to bet he took more than he gave, especially remembering the way that she'd responded to how I'd made her come on my tongue. Thoughts like that were going to get me into trouble. In fact, my greedy dick perked up once more at the mere idea of feasting on Bella again.

Bella smiled at me, biting her bottom lip, which was red and kiss-bruised. "You look so...relaxed," she teased with a giggle. "It looks good on you."

I chuckled, kissing her lips before tugging her hair down from the ponytail I'd thoroughly ravaged with my hands. I ran my fingers through it, smiling when she rolled her eyes, snatched the stretchy band back, and tossed it back up.

"Thanks to you. Come on. We'll get back down there so you can see," I told her, guiding her back down the trail that the bonfires were illuminating.

As we sat back down on the blanket with Jasper and Alice, Bella told them about the tide pool and the starfish, carefully avoiding our other activities. But my eyes were only on her. I knew, without a fucking doubt, I wasn't going to hold back much longer with her. I wanted her too much, and she'd slowly squirmed her way in when no other had been able to, and that was both comforting and frightening at the same time.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: I agree with everything Jen said up top. Edward's struggling with a lot of different, conflicting thoughts, but how he feels about Bella isn't one of them. She's also right when she said it's a theme that kinda sticks around, but we've got a lot ahead of us, so I hope you're ready. :)**

**We don't have a rec this week, except for myself. I'll start posting a new short story – _Pieces of You_ – beginning Monday. Summary: She wanted all of him, something he couldn't give her. He'd finally found the one thing that meant everything, yet he belonged to someone else. She wanted to believe everything he ever promised, but a heart can only be so strong when faith is test. Rated M/Canon couples/AH**

**[Note from Jenny: This fic is brilliantly written, heartbreakingly sad, and makes you want to eat a pint of ice cream while using up a dozen boxes of tissues. I think you'll love it as much as I do!]**

**I wanted to thank everyone who has supported us, donned their pompoms, and cheered us on and cheered us up. It's easy to let the negative get to us, but you guys so rock. Thank you so much. We'll see you Wednesday for the teaser and again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N #1: As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review, either here or by letting us know on Facebook/Twitter how much they're enjoying the story. We appreciate all the kind words!**

**Not a lot to say this time around in terms of questions/answers. FFn was down for a bit last week, so make sure you read chapter 13 before this one! See Deb at the bottom. ;) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

Chapter 14

Bella POV

None of us woke up early the fifth of July – our fourth had been a lot of fun, but we'd been out late the night before and then we hadn't gone right to sleep after we got home. When I finally stumbled into the living room after a shower to finish waking myself up, Edward was sitting on the couch, cup of coffee on the table in front of him as he flipped through the channels.

"Morning, B," he said with a smile as he patted the seat beside him.

I slid down beside him and gave him a kiss good morning. "Morning. Where are Ali and Jasper?"

"They heard you stirring and decided to go pick up lunch. Jazz wanted subs, and Alice said she knew what you'd want."

I nodded, chuckling. "I get the same thing every time," I told him with a shrug. "So what's the plan for today? We didn't get to swim last night. Want to go to the pool?"

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Promise to wear that little bikini again?" At my giggle, he winked. "Sure, we could go swimming. I was thinking about seeing if you guys wanted to go bowling, but we could do that another day."

Smirking, I admitted, "You know, I've never actually bowled."

"Really?" Edward smiled. "I could teach you. It would be fun."

I laughed, shaking my head. "You just want an excuse to teach me how to handle a ball," I teased.

"Oh, Bella," he purred, looking dangerously seductive. "I think you _know_ how to handle a ball..."

My panties suddenly felt like they were combusting, and I felt the heat everywhere. Giving as good as I got, I slid my hand onto his thigh, inching it slowly upward until I was cupping him through the front of his jeans. "Oh, baby, surely a little more...practice can't hurt, can it?"

Edward groaned as I flexed my fingers around him, pressing himself into my hand. When I ran my nails up the hard length, he hissed and then reached to pull me into his lap. My laugh was soft, husky, as Edward's hands reached around to cup my ass. As he slid his hands up and then back down into my shorts, I reached down and undid the button on his jeans, carefully lowering the zipper before taking him in hand.

"Fuck," he growled, thrusting up to meet my fist. One hand continued to knead my ass while the other moved around to tease my clit.

His dick was slick with pearly fluid already seeping from the slit in the head, making it easy for my thumb to swipe and use it to help stroke him.

Just as Edward's finger slipped between my lower lips, we heard the door from the garage open and Alice's voice call out, thankfully from the kitchen.

"We're back, Edward! Is Bella up yet?"

I scrambled off his lap, biting my lip and holding in my giggle as I straightened my shorts and Edward tried to tuck his cock back in his jeans.

"Yeah, Ali," I said, finally giving in and letting out a quiet laugh when Edward glared at me – though his eyes twinkling with mirth let me know he wasn't upset...with me, anyway.

Alice came bouncing around the corner and smiled. "Hey. I got you a turkey on wheat. They didn't have avocado, though."

"Thanks." I looked down at my hands and then at Edward. "I'm umm...gonna go wash my hands, then I'll be in."

Edward smirked and stood, turning to discreetly adjust himself away from Alice's view. "I'll join you," he said, ignoring Alice's gasp.

"Sorry! Did we...interrupt something?" she teased as I passed her.

I grinned and followed Edward to the downstairs guest bathroom without answering.

Edward stopped at the bathroom door and turned, motioning for me to go ahead. Once I was at the sink, he moved up behind me, pressing his front to my back and letting me feel that he wasn't completely calmed down from our time on the couch.

"Mmm," I hummed, catching his gaze in the mirror. "Too bad we can't send them back out to buy something else," I teased.

Edward reached up and brushed the hair away from my neck, placing a long, slow, open-mouthed kiss just beneath my ear. "Give me two minutes and I can get rid of them..."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Not now, hot shot," I told him, leaning forward to turn on the water.

Edward put on a crestfallen expression, complete with puppy dog eyes and pout to beat all pouts, grinning when I simply rolled my eyes and laughed.

Once I'd rinsed my hands, I moved aside so Edward could have the sink. On my way to the door after a quick dry with the hand towel, I leaned in and whispered, "Play your cards right and maybe you'll get lucky soon."

Then I nipped his earlobe and scurried away, giggling, as Edward called out, "Promises, promises, you tease!"

I was still giggling as I made my way into the dining room, where Alice and Jasper had set out our subs, chips, and bottles of water for everyone.

"What's so funny, darlin'?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"This is yours." Alice pointed to one of the subs.

Taking my seat, I unwrapped my sandwich as Edward came in and slid into the seat beside me.

"It's gorgeous outside today," Alice said after a minute. "We should go swimming."

"Mmhmm," I mumbled around a bite of sandwich, and then swallowing, I said, "I told Edward that earlier."

Jasper grinned and was about to comment, but the cell phone in Edward's pocket rang.

Shooting Jasper a concerned look, Edward took it out and held it up to his ear.

"'Lo?" He grinned and pulled it away from his head, punching a button. "Hey, Al. Who'd I get my first black eye from?"

Al's short bark of laughter rang over the speakerphone. "Marcy, Becky, Mallory...some little brown-haired girl in first grade. She punched you when you tried to kiss her."

I couldn't hold in the snorting giggle, and neither could Alice, who laughed along with me.

"About the same ladies' man you were then as you are now, huh, Ed?" Jasper drawled, shooting me a wink.

Edward shot him the middle finger and spoke again to the phone. "Bree Tanner, Uncle Al. Anyway, what's up? Obviously, the girls and Jasper are here with me," he said sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes to the three of us.

"I have some news."

His voice was suddenly serious, and I couldn't help but reach out blindly to take Edward's hand beneath the table and grasp Alice's hand across from me as she held it out.

"Go on," Edward told him, all playfulness gone, even as he squeezed my hand reassuringly.

"They've set a trial date," Al said matter-of-factly. "The defense finally ran out of ways to delay."

"When?" Edward asked tersely, his tone of voice clearly showing what we were all feeling.

"A month from tomorrow," Al answered calmly. "But Bella and Alice – as Marie and Mary, of course – won't testify on the first day, or probably even the second. The D.A. left word with Peter that he wants the girls in town on August first, five days before the trial is scheduled to start, to go over pretrial prep. You'll be notified as soon as possible as to when they are actually needed in court."

"Where are we gonna stay?" I asked, clearing my throat nervously.

"I'm already on that, Bella," he said. "I've got a buddy who owns an upscale apartment complex out there. I'm going to fly out there myself in a couple of weeks and secure an apartment for you guys to stay in if he has any available. It's where I'd have tried to send you had Edward's friends not had a place."

Edward nodded slowly and asked, "It's secure?"

"Yeah, son. Jason Jenks is an old friend from college of both your dad and me. He went into the Army after college and retired a few years ago after he got married again. If I remember right, the place has a gated, key card entry to the complex, cameras in the parking lot and the individual buildings we can tap into so you have eyes out there, and parking is close to the building. It's as secure as you'll find, I believe."

Grunting in acknowledgment, Edward then asked, "Anything else?"

"No, that's all. We'll talk again closer to the first of the month about transport and what not."

"All right. Thanks, Uncle Al," Edward sighed.

"Of course," Al said. "Take care, guys. Ladies, keep those boys in line, and I'll speak to you again soon, okay?"

"Thanks, Uncle Al," Alice and I echoed, smiling when his laughter boomed over the line before he hung up.

Edward closed the phone, pushed the remains of his sandwich away, and squeezed my hand before standing. "I need a cigarette," he said, turning and moving through the kitchen to the back deck door without waiting for a reply.

I waited a couple of minutes, watching Jasper hug my sister, and then I stood, too. "I'm gonna..." I motioned to the kitchen.

Jasper and Alice nodded, and Jasper smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Stepping out the back door, I immediately saw Edward sitting on the steps leading down to the yard. One hand held a cigarette, already almost half gone, while the other raked through his hair, tugging at it.

When the door shut behind me, he grumbled, "I don't wanna talk about it, man."

"That's fine," I chirped lightly, "because I'm not a man, and I don't wanna talk about it, either."

His head jerked up and he turned, shaking his head and holding out his hand. "Sorry, Bella. Come here."

I walked over and sat down beside him, leaning into him as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

We were quiet as he finished his cigarette, blowing the last of the smoke away from me and stubbing out the butt on the ashtray on the edge of the deck. Then he turned and kissed my temple.

"You okay after that news?"

Shrugging, I said, "As okay as I can be, I suppose. I'd almost forgotten the last few days why we were here. The phone call was like a slap in the face as to the reality of the situation."

Edward's arm tightened around me as he sighed. "I've said it before, baby, but I'll say it again: I'll get you there and back safely, Bella. You and Alice will be okay. I swear on my life."

A flash of fear made my stomach roil and my throat feel like it was closing up, but I swallowed it back and nodded. Edward had enough to worry about without my fears adding to it.

~oOo~

Swimming was vetoed an hour later for several reasons, not the least of which were the quickly darkening skies. Edward swore a thunderstorm was brewing. None of us felt much like leaving the house after Al's phone call, so to try to take our minds off everything, we pulled out the Xbox 360 Jasper and Edward had gotten not long ago during one trip into town. For hours, we challenged each other to racing games, dance games – where we learned that for all of Jasper's smooth moves elsewhere, dancing was _not_ his thing – Rock Band, and even a few sports games. The guys made us play three rounds of soccer when Alice and I paired up for the first two and kicked their asses, which amused us to no end.

For dinner, pizza sounded good to all of us, so Jasper ran to get it while the rest of us stayed at the house. He came back forty-five minutes later, two large steaming pizza boxes stained with drops from the rain that apparently had fallen for a short while.

"Let's watch a movie while we eat," Alice suggested, adding three pieces of pizza to her plate.

Edward raised an eyebrow at me in question.

Shrugging, I said, "Yeah, sure. Sounds good."

Once we all had our pizza and drinks, we carried everything, including the pizza boxes, to the living room and settled onto the couch and loveseat.

"I vote _Little Fockers_," Alice chimed in when Jasper opened the cabinet under the TV.

I nodded. "Fine with me."

When Edward didn't protest, Jasper popped the DVD in and moved back to sit beside Alice, snatching up his pizza as Edward pressed Play on the remote.

We laughed throughout the movie, enjoying the light, fun, relaxed atmosphere. I was able to leave my worries mostly behind me for a couple of hours again, and it felt good to be able to breathe without feeling like my chest was squeezing tight.

After Ben Stiller, we decided on Robert Downey Jr. in _Iron Man_, and I lay down on the couch, putting my head in Edward's lap to watch the movie.

I'd seen the movie more times than I could remember, so when my eyes started falling closed less than halfway through, I wasn't worried about missing anything. Edward's hand slowly running through my hair was comforting, and it relaxed me enough that I knew I would end up falling asleep.

I was jerked awake sometime later. The room was dark aside from a blue glow from the TV, but Edward's voice was soothing in my ear.

"Hush, baby. I've got you," he whispered, hitching me up tighter against his chest.

I mumbled an okay and then closed my eyes again, relaxing against him.

I woke again when he lay me down on the bed. I woke up enough to help him as he pulled off my clothes and slid a T-shirt on over my head, but then I lay back and was already drifting off when he leaned down.

Brushing a kiss across my lips, he murmured, "Sleep well," and then he was gone.

I pulled the sheet tighter around me and sighed, feeling sleep come.

~oOo~

_There were so many people around us as we tried to make our way into the courthouse. Edward and Jasper were doing their best to keep people away – including all the reporters with their cameras and microphones – but there were so many of them, it was an impossible job._

"_Marie, Mary, over here!" a woman called out, holding her microphone out. "Are you scared about testifying against Caius Volturi?"_

"_There have been rumors that Volturi has tried to have you killed," another reporter said loudly. "Any comments?"_

"_Back up," Edward ordered, pushing us forward as Jasper continued trying to clear a path._

"_Aren't you worried that testifying will mean signing your death warrant?" a man called out._

_I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was being suffocated in the crowd of people. I clutched my sister's hand like a lifeline as we followed Jasper as best we could._

"_Will you testify that you saw Caius Volturi shoot Eleazar Denali?" a woman asked, shoving her microphone in my face as we passed._

_Just then, a man stepped up to the throng of people on our left and raised his hand. I thought for a moment that it was another reporter with a microphone, but then my mind registered that he was holding a gun._

_Edward saw him at the same time and leapt at the man as Jasper pushed Alice and me behind him, drawing his weapon._

_Two gunshots rang out, and I gasped, trying to look around Jasper, who was holding us back with one arm._

"_Edward!" I screamed, ducking Jasper's arm._

_The man with the gun was on his back, eyes open, a dark hole in the side of his head. Jasper had shot him._

_Then I saw Edward, lying on his stomach across the other man's legs. Blood was pooling underneath him at a rate too fast to mean anything good._

"_No!" I gasped. "Edward! Ed—"_

I sat up, my heart racing, as I tried to calm myself down from the terrifying fucking dream. When something banged on the window, I nearly screamed, until I looked out and saw lightening flash and heard another boom of thunder. The wind picked up again, sending the tree limb against the window with another scratching thump.

Unable to calm down from the nightmare, I realized I was never going to be able to get back to sleep until I saw for myself that Edward was safe. Alive.

With that thought in mind, I raced down the stairs to the one person I needed most at that moment.

_Edward._

~oooOOOooo~

Edward POV

My eyes snapped open, my breathing hitching as I gathered my wits about me. The green glow of the clock on the nightstand said it was almost two in the morning. Glancing down at the file folder in my lap, I guessed that I must have fallen asleep going over Volturi's file...again. It seemed that since Uncle Al had called to tell us the court date, I'd felt the need to do _something_. Nothing could happen to those girls upstairs. Nothing. And I knew they were scared to fucking death. So I'd re-memorized every known face in Caius's family, every business name he used as a cover, and every detail of the charges stacked against him.

Thunder rolled long and deep, rain spattering against my window, and I took a deep breath and let it out. The storm had woken me up. I scrubbed my face and scratched my bare chest, thinking I should put all that shit away for the night. The folder made a soft slap when it hit the floor beside my bed. I was reaching for the switch on the lamp beside me, but froze at the sound of quickly approaching footsteps.

I saw the shadow of two small feet hesitate outside my door, but the knob turned and the door creaked open. The light from my bedside lamp, along with a bright flash of lightning, illuminated Bella standing there. She was still wearing just my USMS T-shirt, but it was her face that looked wrecked, absolutely shattered. She was shaking, streams of tears running down her face.

"Bella? What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up on the side of the bed.

I'd never seen her move so fast. Shutting the door behind her, she bolted across the room and into my arms.

"I didn't know...I didn't want to wake you," she sobbed as I wrapped my arms around her.

"It wouldn't have mattered," I told her, trying to pull her back to look at her face, but her grip on me was tenacious and shaky. "Tell me what's wrong."

"N-Nightmare," she sputtered, but her hands were all over me – my neck, my shoulders, my hair. It was as if she needed to make sure I was really there. "And then something smacked the window."

"Shh, okay," I whispered, pulling at her until she finally let me see her face. I cupped either side, swiping at the tears with my thumbs. "It was just the trees. I have to trim them. You want to stay in here?"

She swallowed thickly, nodding vehemently. Keeping one hand on her face, I leaned over and shut off the lamp. There was still a sliver of light coming from the bathroom where the door was pulled almost closed, but otherwise, the room went dark.

Sliding back into bed, I lifted the covers. "Get in, baby. Come on."

Bella crawled in, scooting as close to me as she could get. Staying face to face, I brushed her hair away from her brow. She was still shivering, still gripping onto me, and tears continued to leak from those beautiful eyes. And I couldn't take it.

"Want to talk about it?" I asked her softly, dropping a kiss to her forehead and wrapping a heavy arm around her waist to pull her that much closer.

"We...you... Walking into court," she sputtered through more tears, tangling her legs with mine. "There were so many people and...a guy, and he had a gun... You...you..." She hiccuped, poking her finger into my chest. "So much blood." She rambled on about reporters and Jasper shooting and courthouse steps. She finally ended with, "You weren't moving."

"Okay, okay," I soothed her, finally getting the picture. I picked up her hand and placed it over my heart. "Feel that? Feel my heart? Feel it beating. It was just a dream, sweetheart. I'm okay. And I'm right here."

My heart was fucking pounding in my chest, so she had to have felt it. It was more than just the fact that she was in my bed looking beautiful and sad and devastated, with only my boxer-briefs and her underwear between us. I was scared for her, scared for all of us, and I didn't want to fail her, damn it. But more than all of that, I understood her reaction to the dream. The way she was clinging, the way that her eyes were raking all over my face – I felt it, too. This was more than just someone out to get us; Bella was terrified something would happen to _me_. And her terror matched my own. Nothing could happen to her, and it now went far beyond a stupid fucking job, far beyond attraction to the stunning brunette currently under the covers with me.

Whatever this was that was shifting between us was becoming more, and the conflict inside me was immense. A feeling that I hadn't felt in a long time rattled around my mind and heart, but I couldn't give it a name just yet. It was too much, too scary, and so much more powerful than I remembered. Or maybe it was the difference in women.

I brushed my lips across hers, making sure her eyes were on mine when I spoke softly. She needed to know the facts first.

"It won't work that way, Bella," I started, wiping away more tears. "First of all, we'd never, _ever_ bring you in through the media. Ever. If anything, Jasper and I would split the two of you up, bringing you in through the back in disguise. Two separate vehicles that won't even register on the mob's radar – ice cream truck, mail carrier, maybe even a catering van. They won't even know it's a transport. Okay?" I verified, and when she nodded, I went on. "Second, no one, and I fucking mean _no one_, steps foot outdoors in that city without a Kevlar vest on. Not one of us. Understand?"

"Okay," she said softly, her fingers tracing my eyebrow, the bridge of my nose, and along my jaw. When she got to my lips, I pressed a kiss to her fingertips.

"And third?" I asked, smirking a little at her. "I'm a way faster draw than Jasper Whitlock. I've proved it to his ass time and time again. I destroyed him in our finals in training. If you ask him, he'll fucking deny it, the little liar. But I've got that shit on video. _When_ we get to Seattle – not _if_ – I promise to show you."

Bella finally smiled a little, sniffling softly. "Mm'kay," she agreed, but her smile fell quickly, and she snuggled into my neck. "I'm so scared something will happen to you...to all of us."

My brow furrowed at how she'd said that, because the last part had been tacked on in a hurry. It seemed like I wasn't the only one feeling this shit.

"Bella," I whispered, kissing her cheek and squeezing her hand that was still flat over my heart. "Baby, look at me." When she pulled back to lock gazes with me, I kissed her lips softly, slowly. "I know you're scared, and I know the future is shaky. I hate that I can't..." I huffed frustratedly through my nose because I hated like fucking hell that I couldn't say what I needed to. "Promises aren't something I can afford to make, Bella. But you need to know...right now: This..." I gestured between us. "This has become more than just getting my witness to the stand."

Something like relief passed over her face, and I hoped that I'd said the right thing. I didn't want her upset, but with all that was gunning for us, I didn't want to make up some grandiose vow that everything would be all right. It would be a lie, and I didn't want to lie to her. It wasn't a risk I was willing to take. But I also knew it made me sound like a fucking weasel that was just using her.

"That makes me sound like an asshole that's just...fucking playing with you. Some deviant opportunist," I rambled, groaning and shaking my head.

"Are you?" she asked, tilting her head at me and running her fingers through my hair.

"No."

My voice was firm, and I hoped I sounded honest. I wanted to tell her how badly I wanted her to meet my family, take her for a ride on my bike, show her all the cool places in Seattle. I wanted more than I'd ever thought, but more than I was too chicken-shit to admit. It was a struggle to remind myself that Bella wasn't using..._me_. She wasn't Maggie. She was the polar opposite.

And it seemed my emotions were written all over my face because the next words out of Bella's mouth were fucking perfect and exactly what I needed to hear.

"Good," she stated. "'Cause if anyone looks like the opportunist, it's me, Edward. And I'm not. If I'd met you on the street...or in a bar...I'd still have been attracted to you, but I wouldn't have gotten to _know_ you. And I'm glad that I did."

I grinned because that shit was fucking sexy. "Are you saying that you'd have hit on me, Bella?"

"Hell, yes," she said, giggling, and the sound reverberated all the way to my cock, who was so very happy to be snuggled between us. If anyone was the opportunist, it was him. Shameless fucker.

Bella looked embarrassed with that admission, and I chuckled, shaking my head. How the woman could go from sexy and bold to shy and sweet blew my ever-loving mind.

"You know, I wouldn't have bought that dumb chick thing you try to sell," I teased her, gliding my hand down her side, over her thigh, to the back of her knee, hitching it up around my waist. "But you're way too beautiful to resist," I said, slipping my hand just underneath my shirt that she was wearing, my fingers trailing around the edge of her underwear – at the small of her back, around the thigh – sneaking just under the elastic on her ass. "It's fucked up that Mike made you feel you couldn't sell the real you, 'cause that..._that_ shit is fucking sexy."

Bella groaned, looking away from my face, but her hand skimmed down my side, around to my back, and down to my ass, and I couldn't help but grind into her.

"Please don't mention him in this bed."

I snorted into a chuckle, my hand slipping farther into her underwear, giving her sweet ass cheek a squeeze. "Did you ever stop to think _he_ was the problem, baby? Not you." When her sharp gaze snapped to mine, I smirked, shaking my head. "You didn't, did you?" Rolling her onto her back, I braced myself on one arm along her side, my hand skimming around to her stomach. "Fuck me, you look good in my shirt," I whispered, leaning down to kiss her.

Kissing her, tasting her, was like a drug I couldn't quit. It was all-consuming and so deep. She responded with her fingers in my hair and legs wrapping around mine, which only shifted higher to where she was achy and so very warm. I pressed my thigh up, moaning when she ground down on it, seeking friction. My hips surged forward, my cock wanting the same relief, but my hand teased every inch of skin beneath that shirt as my tongue claimed, swirled, glided with hers.

"Lift up," I whispered, sitting up a little and reaching for the hem of the T-shirt. I tugged the shirt off her, only to fall back down into the same position. Kissing her one more time, I finally broke away with a gasp to rake my eyes over her. Leaning down, I barely brushed my lips across an instantly peaked nipple. "Did he make you feel this way, Bella?" I asked her, my voice deeper and raspier than I was expecting. "Did these pretty pink nipples respond to him like this?" I cupped one perfect, perky breast in one hand while my tongue swirled around the sweet peak of the other.

"No," she breathed, her back arching up to me, her fingers threading in my hair and digging into my back.

"Mmm," I hummed, suckling the dark puckered flesh into my mouth, raking teeth and tongue over it. "I didn't think so." I blew across her wet skin just to watch it tighten more, and then I switched to the other side.

Her hips were grinding up my thigh, and I popped off her breast with a beautiful sound, my hand ghosting down her stomach to cup her possessively. A sexy string of curses met my ear, and I smiled evilly. I couldn't help it.

"Did he make you this hot? This fucking wet, baby?" I asked her, pressing the heel of my hand where she needed it the most.

I kissed down her neck to her ear, not even waiting for her answer anymore, taking her earlobe in my teeth, only to suckle it to take the sting away. My fingers rubbed the now-damp cotton between her legs, humming with approval when her legs fell open wider for me. The sweet whimpers and pleading that she was doing made my dick twitch hard against her thigh. Finally giving in, I slid my hand into her underwear just to feel her wet, swollen pussy.

"I bet he never took the time to take care of you first...to make sure you came so fucking hard. I bet it was all about him. Could he make you come with just his fingers?" I asked, delving between her lips to swirl two fingers around her entrance, up to the sweet bundle of nerves, which caused her hips to raise up off the bed.

"No, Edward..." she panted, her eyes rolling back into her head.

Fuck, I wanted her. I wanted everything about her. My cock ached to be inside her. Shifting down her body, I settled myself between her legs, looking up at the beautiful woman beneath me. Gripping the sides of her panties, I waited until she locked gazes with me before tugging the last article of clothing off her, nuzzling the soft, trimmed curls of her mound. She smelled like flowers and sin and fucking all-girl perfection.

"I wonder..." I mused, licking my lips and skimming my nose up the inside of her thigh. "Did he ever make you come with just his tongue?"

"Shit...fuck... Edward..." she rambled, threading her hands into my hair. But instead of guiding my face to where she needed me, she forced my gaze to hers. "He never made me come...at all!" she said, practically growling in anger, and I grinned, nipping at the skin where her thigh met her body. "Oh fuck!" she hissed, her head falling back as I marked her with my mouth right there, pulling hard on her skin.

"Bella, baby, look at me," I purred, dragging my tongue through her folds, savoring the flavor of her. When frantic and needy brown eyes met mine, I kissed her clit, suckling it one long time, and her breathing faltered. "Then he had no fucking clue what he was doing, sweetheart. He was a fumbling idiot that didn't know what he had...or what he was missing. You are..._fucking gorgeous_ when you come."

Simply to prove a point, I spread her legs open, hooking them in the crooks of my arms. "Beautiful, I want you to watch me devour you. I want you to see how I take care of this beautiful pussy. Keep those legs wide, Bella. And come for me."

Lowering myself down, my eyes stayed on hers as my tongue raked over her from one end to the other. I fucked her entrance with my tongue, taking in her sweet flavor from the source, only to twirl the tip of it around her clit. With the way my arms were braced, she could barely move, but her hips surged up, wanting more, needing more. The more I licked, kissed, sucked, the more her core clenched. Wrapping my lips around the most swollen part of her, I kissed her, undulating my tongue over and over.

"Oh God, don't stop," she begged, and I hummed into her, which set her orgasm off.

Her legs tightened around my arms, her toes curled, but it was her face I couldn't stop watching. Her head fell back to the pillows, her eyes rolled back into her head, and her mouth hung open as if she couldn't catch her breath. She was fucking stunning as her hands left my hair and gripped the sheets.

Her body shuddered as wave after wave hit her, because I kept licking just to watch her continue to fall apart. She was overly sensitive now, something that made me smirk, dragging my wet lips up her stomach and across her chest to hover over her. I let go of her legs, and she wrapped them around my waist as I dropped kisses to her face. I lowered myself down to my elbows on either side of her head, just waiting for her to come back down to Earth.

When her sweet brown eyes opened, I smiled. "So fucking beautiful. He totally missed out. His loss..."

I thought she'd smile, but she didn't. She reached for my face, bringing me down for a kiss at the same time her other hand was sneaking between us. Her mouth moved frantically over mine, her tongue seeking, savoring, and it made me moan that she was turned on by the taste of her own arousal.

I shifted forward when her hand rubbed over my now very hard, almost painful erection on the outside of my underwear.

Bella broke away from me, her eyes dark, wanting. "I want you inside me. I don't want to wait anymore."

"Fuck, baby. Me, either, but are you sure?" I panted, because I couldn't tell her no any longer. "I _need_ you to be sure." I didn't know why it meant so much, but it did. I'd been an ass for years, but that wasn't what this was about with Bella. I needed her to know that, to be sure of me, specifically.

"Edward, I'm _so_ sure. Please," she whispered against my lips. Her eyes stayed open and locked with my own, but the sneaky thing was pushing my underwear down with her feet at the same time. "I want..._you_."

I studied her face, brushing her hair back. There seemed to be more she was telling me with that simple sentence, but we were such similar people that I was damned certain we were of the same mindset. Or maybe I was just hoping she was telling me that she was willing to accept me – faults, walls, and all.

That thought made me kiss the shit out of her, my feet kicking out of my underwear so that they were now lost in the confines of the bed. Bracing on one hand, I reached for the drawer of the nightstand, pulling out a condom. I wasn't completely unaware that Jasper had taken the girls to a clinic. I also knew that there was still a possibility that pills or shots or whatever hadn't had the chance to kick in.

Bella grinned, biting on her lip. "Sure of yourself, are you?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "No, I stole them from Jasper yesterday. My willpower was failing miserably, baby," I whispered against her lips as she took the foil packet from me. "It wouldn't have been long before I just fell at your beautiful feet, begging you."

"Them? How many did you steal?" She giggled, playing like she was about to take an inventory.

"Bella, please," I whined.

Sweet eyes gazed up at me. "Sit up, baby," she ordered, tearing the condom open. I sat back on my heels, and she sat up in front of me, rolling the condom down over me. Before I could push her back, she stopped me. "Edward, _he_ didn't make me hot chocolate, or hold me after a nightmare, or carry me to bed and tuck me in, or give a shit what I was reading, or make me feel safe, either. And he _never_...told me I was beautiful."

The fact that she was reminding me that there was more to us than what was happening inside that bed made me almost mad with want for her. There was more surrounding us than what we'd been through or were about to go through, but both of us were gun-shy people with relationships, and I could see we were just fucking _trying_. Guiding her gently back, I slid my hand behind her neck, arching her up to kiss her as I settled between her thighs again.

Positioning myself at her entrance, I pressed my forehead to hers. "You're sure?" I whispered, begging her silently to stop me now if she wasn't. "Bella, tell me again, _please_."

"Edward, I want you. I want you _so much_," she urged breathlessly as she pulled me closer, her hips lifting to take me inside.

Fuck, she was hot and wet and tight. I kept my gaze on her face for as long as I could, but when I was fully seated inside of her, my eyes squeezed closed as I held myself still. She felt so fucking good, better than anything I'd ever felt before.

Thunder boomed loudly outside as the storm picked up after a small lull. Bella flinched beneath me, gripping my back and wrapping her legs around me.

"I've got you," I vowed soothingly, pulling slowly out, only to thrust back in just as achingly slow. I wanted to take my time, I wanted to feel every inch of me surrounded by her heat. "I'll never, ever let anything happen to you. Tell me you believe that," I commanded, picking up speed. It was all I could offer her as far as promises went.

"Yes," she hissed, her neck arching, and I leaned into savor that sweet skin with open-mouthed kisses. "Fuck, Edward. More...harder."

Cupping her ass, I lifted her hips, driving a little more forcefully into her. "Like that?" I grunted, my mouth falling open when she started meeting me thrust for thrust. When she cried out my name, I did it again, nipping at her collarbone, her throat, finally her nipple. Sitting back on my heels, I continued to thrust into her, holding her hips up off the bed. "Or like this?" I asked, wanting to know exactly what it would take to drive her over the edge again, because I was far from done with her.

My thumb sought out her clit again, and her body bowed off the bed, her legs wrapping higher around me. Her heels dug into my ass, telling me she was close again.

"Come, Bella. Give me another one," I commanded, biting on my bottom lip to control myself from just ramming into her.

Her whimper cut off in the middle of my name as her body gripped mine like a vise. My hand soothed over her stomach as I slowed down to ride out her spasms. She was sweaty and shaking and so beautifully lost to her climax that I almost came at the sight of her.

"Mine," I whispered, bracing back over her. Suddenly so fucking grateful that this Mike guy was gone, that he knew nothing of Bella Swan, that Marie Brandon would never catch sight of him again. I never wanted anyone to see what I was seeing. No Mikes, no guys in the bars, no cable guys. No one.

Before I knew what she'd done, I was on my back with Bella straddling me, sinking slowly down over me.

"Oh, Christ," I panted, absorbing the breathtaking view, my eyes raking over her sex-ravaged hair, her perfect tits, and especially where I was disappearing inside her once more. Her body was a ripple of motion, sliding up and down, in and out. She looked ethereal and deadly, wanton and fragile all at the same time as her eyes became heavy-lidded. "You look amazing riding my cock, Bella. I knew you would. But I won't last long, baby. You feel too fucking good."

A wicked, evil smile quirked up the corners of her mouth as she bit down on that bottom lip. Leaning back, she braced herself on my thighs, changing the feel of everything and making it that much more intense. I gripped her hips, guiding her, meeting the rhythm that she was setting, and loving that I could drive deeper into her this way.

She sat up straight, her body rolling over mine, but I could see she was chasing one more orgasm. I could feel it in the way her pussy gripped my cock, see it in the way her eyes darkened, the way her breathing changed.

"You want to come again, sweetheart?" I asked, linking our fingers together on both hands.

"I want _you_ to come," she countered, squeezing my fingers.

Fuck, it was sexy to watch her. She knew just what she wanted and where to grind to send herself over the edge one more time, and I couldn't help but fall with her. My balls tightened, my legs pushed me hard inside of her, and I fell back to the pillows as I emptied into the condom. Her climax was subtle, almost silent, as mine was loud and feral.

"Edward..."

It was a desperate, pleading sound, and it made me sit up, wrapping her around me. I cupped the side of her beautiful yet sated face, my other arm hugging her close as she shuddered almost violently. I brushed kisses across her cheek, her jaw, the tip of her nose, and finally her lips as she tried to catch her breath.

When her eyes opened to meet mine, there was a touch of sadness in them.

"This changes everything, doesn't it?" she asked in a breathless whisper as her arms snaked around my neck.

I kissed her again, deeply, slowly, trying to slow my heart down, but also trying to show her that she was right. Pulling back, I studied her face. I was suddenly glad that I'd never met her any other way than the way we'd met. I wouldn't have taken the time to find out just how much more she was other than a pretty face. Now, I couldn't bear to lose her. Failure was _not_ a fucking option. I'd kill a motherfucker for even looking at her wrong.

Again, the feelings, a familiar word swirled around in my head, kicking at my heart, and I swallowed nervously. I kissed her one more time, because I needed her on a level that scared me. She knew more about me than even some of my family members, and the way she was looking at me made me feel like a god, despite my past, my foul-ass attitude, and my duty to protect her.

"Yeah, baby... It changes everything," I agreed, shifting out of her and wincing when I removed the condom. I tied it in a knot, tossing it into the garbage by the bed. I settled her under the covers with me, wrapping my arms around her as her head lay on my chest. "But I sure as shit don't regret a fucking thing."

Bella smiled against my skin, shifting up so she could press a kiss to my neck. "Me, either."

Rain spattered against the window in a gust of wind, thunder rumbling long and low. I smiled into the top of her head when she didn't flinch this time, but merely twitched as she started to fall asleep in my arms, which meant she felt safe, her nightmare long forgotten.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: For those of you on FB that had guessed nightmare with the teaser...NICE! ;) I know some of you were worried. I'm sure that's merely habit with this fic. Jenny and I haven't exactly made this an easy road for these guys. And yes, the trial is coming up. There will be a bit of a time jump, just FYI.**

**I also want to give another HUGE thank you to Mimi Holmes for the amazing manip she made for us for this past week's teaser. Marshalward's ink looks amazing on it! :) Check out that and another gif that made us both drool when Jenny found it. Links to Jenny's site & my blog are on our profile.**

**There are a couple of fics we are recommending this week. The first is _Dancing in the Dark_ by Jaxon22, featuring a swoonable Daddyward. Jenny & I have been reading this one almost from the get-go. LOVE it. Go check it out and then leave her some love! :)**

**The second fic is one Jenny started and caught up with when she couldn't stop reading for hours. _Tip of the Spear_ by Robsmyyummy Cabanaboy is about Captain Edward Masen of the USMC, and she said he will make you want to just about eat him up.**

**Finally, be sure to join the people I'm driving crazy with _Pieces of You_. Bring your tissues for this one. ;)**

**Okay, we'll see you Wednesday for the teaser (and if you aren't on FB and really want to read the teaser, send us a PM and we'll send you the teaser come midweek. ;) ) and again on Sunday. :) Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N #1: You guys are so great! We love how much you love our characters and the kind words you always share, whether it be a review on the site or a quick note on Twitter or Facebook. They each mean so much to both of us!**

**To the reviewer for chapter 1 this week who left her name but wasn't signed in so I couldn't answer via PM: Their birth names were Isabella Marie and Mary Alice. Bella was called Isabella when she was little bitty, but when she got old enough, she wanted to be called Marie so her name sounded like her sister's. So that's what she was called from around four or five years old, by her choice. :) Hope that makes sense!**

**Now, read on and then see Deb (& me again! ;) ) at the bottom! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 15**

**Bella POV**

When I woke up, the first thing my eyes focused on was Edward's profile in the dim light of the early morning. He was on his back, one arm flung over his forehead, with the sheet and blanket pooled around his waist. His eyes were closed, his breathing steady. I was still in his bed, still naked, after...what we'd done the night before. Calling it just "having sex" seemed wrong, somehow, but I was scared to call it what it had really felt like. One thing I did know, though, was I wanted more...

_More of his hands, his lips...his cock._

It had all been beyond anything I'd ever felt before, maybe because my heart was fully into it, and it had been just what I'd wanted and needed after the God-awful nightmare.

Just the memory of seeing Edward get shot, even in my sleep, was enough to make me cringe.

"You're thinking awfully hard over there," Edward mumbled, cracking one eye open to look at me.

"Just...remembered my nightmare," I admitted, smiling when he turned over and pulled me into his chest.

Propping himself up on one elbow, he leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. "It was just a nightmare, Bella. I'm right here." He took my hand and slid it up his body to his chest. "Feel me, baby. I'm okay."

I nodded, leaning in to kiss his chest as I wrapped my arm around him. His skin was warm and the light dusting of hair tickled my lips, and I couldn't help but want to taste more. I kissed him again, letting my tongue tickle his skin for a moment, grinning against him when he made a noise that sounded like a groan and a whimper.

Edward's hand moved down my back to my ass, pulling me even more snug against him and trapping his morning erection between us. "Are you sore?" he asked, his hand kneading and massaging my flesh gently.

I shook my head, rubbing myself against him and kissing his chest one more time.

Suddenly, I found myself on my back, giggling as Edward growled, "Good..."

Then he was over me, kissing me, as his hand ghosted down my neck, over the swell of my breast, where he stopped, cupping me and rolling the nipple between his thumb and finger, forcing my eyes closed as I felt it everywhere.

Whimpering against his lips, I arched my back, pressing myself more fully into his hand.

"So fucking responsive," he said in a gruff voice, almost to himself, before his hand left my breast and continued down.

When he stopped just shy of where I wanted him, my eyes opened, finding him staring down at me, the heat in his gaze almost a physical thing.

"Touch me, Edward... Ple—"

He cut off my plea with a kiss as his fingers slid through my wetness, cupping me and pressing the heel of his hand just where I needed him. When he pulled back to look at me again, I tried to hold his gaze, but when his fingers finally dipped inside, stroking me, my eyes closed.

"That's it, Bella," he purred in my ear. "Feel me." He groaned, his breath tickling my neck. "Fuck, you're so wet, baby. All for me, yeah?"

His thumb barely brushed my clit, and I couldn't help but buck up against his hand, breathing out, "Oh, fuck..."

"Mm, you like that, don't you?" he asked, doing it again and again until I was trembling under him. "Can you come for me? I want to feel you come around my fingers, Bella. Can you do that?"

I nodded, feeling everything in me tighten as he added another finger, curling them as his thumb pressed hard to my now-aching clit. When he stroked just the right spot inside me, I shattered, crying out his name as I flew over the edge of my orgasm.

"Beautiful," Edward murmured, slowing his fingers down until I finally opened my eyes. I watched as he brought his fingers to his mouth. "And you taste even better..."

Fuck, watching him do that was hot. "Condom," I huffed, reaching down to take him in my hand.

Edward's eyes shuttered closed and he groaned as he blindly reached over and fumbled in the nightstand for a minute, coming back out victorious.

I took the foil packet from him and gently shoved at his shoulder until he moved to his back. He watched as I leaned down, his breath catching as I kissed the tip of his cock, swiping the head with my tongue to taste the pearly drop beaded there.

"Mm, you taste good, too," I hummed, grinning when he growled a playful warning. Stroking him once, I shook my head. "No teasing..."

I made quick work of the wrapper, tossing it to the floor before sliding the latex over Edward's cock. Holding the base, I moved up so I was straddling him, slowly lowering myself onto his length.

"God, you make me feel so...full," I huffed once I was seated on his thighs.

His eyes were on mine as I began to move, riding him like I had the night before. Rolling my hips, I leaned forward with my hands on his chest, my hair falling around us like a curtain. From that angle, his pubic bone hit my clit, sending shivers up and down my spine.

It wasn't long before Edward was thrusting up to meet me as I raised and lowered myself on him, and I wanted more.

Leaning down to his ear, I whispered, "Fuck me, baby."

With a growl, Edward flipped us, never moving from inside me.

"You want me to fuck you, Isabella?" he asked, raising a deadly sexy brow.

"Mmhmm," I answered, my grin changing to a whimper when he bucked his hips, thrusting hard. "God, Edward. Just like that..."

Instead of speeding up, Edward smirked and began sliding in and out at an almost torturously slow pace. I felt every inch of him as he moved inside me, the coarse hairs at the base of his cock tickling my tender skin. With every slow thrust of his hips, I slid on the sheets, until I had to brace my hand on the headboard behind me. My other hand moved to my chest, and I watched Edward bite his lip as I pulled and teased my nipples, bringing them to even harder points.

His tone low, husky, he said, "Touch yourself, baby. Make yourself come again."

I gasped softly, my eyes closing as I moved my hand down between us.

"Eyes open, Bella," he ordered. "I want you to watch me as you come and watch what that does to me."

I nodded, gazing up at him as my fingers brushed the spot we were joined. I made a vee with my fingers, surrounding him as he slid back inside me, and then I gasped as I moved them to my still-aroused clit.

"That's it, beautiful," Edward encouraged. "More, baby."

His thrusts began to speed up as my fingers slid over and around my clit, putting just the right amount of pressure on it to make my muscles shake. When his hands gripped my hips so he could thrust even harder, I gently rolled my clit in my fingers, sending myself over once more. My vision swam, but even so, I could see Edward's gaze on my face as he thrust one last time, his own eyes closing as he cursed and came, his grip nearly bruising on my hips.

Neither of us spoke for a minute, both trying to catch our breath. Finally, he carefully pulled out, making us both groan, and I released my hold on the headboard, my arm falling jelly-like to the bed beside me. Edward tied off the condom and tossed it into the trash before taking me in his arms.

"Christ, I think I need a nap now," he admitted, huffing a laugh when I giggled.

I shrugged, leaning up to kiss his jaw. "It's still early. We could go back to sleep."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" At my nod, he slid us down farther on the bed and then reached down to pull the sheet up. "Good. Sleep then, baby."

I closed my eyes, feeling safe in his arms.

~oOo~

Edward and I spent all morning in his room, kissing, touching – which inevitably led to sex twice more, insuring that I wouldn't be able to walk normally for days – and talking. He asked me to tell him stories about growing up, although I'd protested.

"_Why does it matter?" I asked grumpily. "That part of my life is over. I'm not Charlie and Renee Brandon's daughter anymore."_

_He sighed, leaning in to take my face in his hands and holding me so I was forced to look at him. "Bella, it matters. Your name isn't Marie Brandon anymore, no. But here, where it matters—" he moved one hand to my chest, over my heart "—they will always be your parents. You never have to give up those memories. If you tell me about them, it'll help reinforce them in your mind, and next month at the trial, four months from now when you're adjusting to your new name and new life, or twenty years from now, when this is all a distant memory, you'll have those in your head, too."_

What he'd said had made sense, so I'd told him about my mom's inability to pick a project and stick with it simply because she was always so excited to go on to the next thing. I'd told him about the first time my dad had taken my sister and me to the gun range to learn how to shoot – against our mother's wishes, of course. I'd even told him all about the horrible year between my father's death and my mother's, and then the time shortly after, where I'd thought about ending my pain by taking my own life – something I'd never even told my sister or grandmother – but that I'd decided against it for my sister's sake.

He'd listened to each and every story, wiping my tears when they fell, laughing along with me at the silly things, and distracting me with kisses when things became too much.

After exhausting myself talking about my family, I sat straddling his lap, tracing the tattoos on his arm.

"You mentioned maybe thinking about getting another one, something to do with Batman?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure where, though."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "Why Batman?"

Edward grinned unabashedly. "Batman is totally awesome." He pointedly ignored my rolling eyes and giggle at how much like a teenager he sounded. "Seriously. He doesn't possess any real superpowers – he can't crawl up walls like Spider-man or leap tall buildings in a single bound like Superman. He's a normal guy with a lot of cool toys – a _lot_ of cool toys, Bella, seriously."

I giggled again – the teenage geeky boy was out in full force, and it was adorable.

"The best part about Batman, though," he continued, still ignoring my giggling, "is his commitment in a belief that one person can make a difference in the world. After the death of his parents, he was determined to be the best man he could be, to be someone his parents would be proud of, and to make the world better. That's his greatest superpower."

I thought about that for a bit, remembering Edward's story about his birth father and how that helped set him on the course to where he was today – helping in his own way to make the world a better place. Like Batman, Edward was loyal to the people in his life. It showed in the stories about his sister and friends Angela and Ben, his support of Jasper and Al, the love he showed for his parents and the man who gave him life...

Cupping the back of his neck, I leaned in and kissed him softly, my nails scratching his scalp lightly. I wanted to tell him that his birth father would have been proud of him, of the work he was doing and of the man he'd become. Instead, I simply said, "I get it now, baby. The Batman symbol is perfect." Placing my hand on the left side of his chest, near his heart, I said, "Right here."

Edward's hand moved up to cover mine, and he leaned in and kissed me again until I felt lightheaded.

Unfortunately, our bubble had to end sometime, and it came in the form of a knock on his bedroom door.

"Yo, Ed. You seen Bella?"

Jasper sounded amused, not worried, so I was almost positive he knew I was in with Edward.

"Guess it was too much to hope that we'd have the whole day in here, huh?" Edward teased quietly with a wink. At my nod, he grinned and said, "Yeah, Jazz. She's in here. We'll be out in a minute."

I hid my face in Edward's chest as Jasper chuckled before leaving.

"I need a shower," I said, not moving from my spot.

Edward chuckled, tickling my ear. "Yeah, me, too."

"Wanna save water?" I asked innocently.

I was sure my shrieking giggle could be heard throughout the entire house, but as Edward carried me into his bathroom, I couldn't have cared less.

~oOo~

An hour and a half later, after lunch, I was still wearing Edward's USMS T-shirt and a pair of his shorts rolled up at the waist to keep them in place.

Alice stood from her seat at the table. "Come with me," she ordered, raising a brow at me. "Let's go have some girl talk while the boys are busy with the video games."

I saluted her playfully and followed her upstairs, steering her away from her room and leading her to mine on the third floor.

"Why up here?" she asked as I closed the door behind her.

Glancing down at my clothes, I said, "'Cause I need to change."

She grinned. "I wondered if you were gonna wear them all day. Spill it! Did you spend the night in his room?"

I grabbed a new T-shirt and shorts from the small dresser, then pulled off the old shirt and shorts. Tossing them to the bed beside Alice, I pulled on the new clothes before I answered. "I did." Then to clarify, I added, "Well, most of it."

"I didn't think you'd started the night there," she mused. "He carried you upstairs to bed. What happened?"

I climbed up on the bed beside her and told her all about the nightmare and me running to Edward's room. "I just...really needed to see for myself that he was there, alive and healthy."

She nodded, and then a small smile quirked up the corner of her lips. "From the—" she waved her hand around me "—glow, I'd say he definitely showed you how _alive_ and _healthy_ he is. Am I right?"

I laughed and shrugged. She knew she was right. She didn't need me to verify that Edward and I had finally crossed that line.

When I was quiet, she sat up and frowned. "Was it good? I mean, I would guess it was – 'cause of the aforementioned glow, I mean – but..."

"No, it was," I rushed to assure her. "It was...perfect." I sighed, biting at my cuticle when my worries cropped up again. "It's just..."

I huffed, shaking my head.

"B, talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

It all came out in a rush. "I have no idea what this means. Like, for later, after the trial and shit. I mean, _can_ we be together? I'm sure it's got to be against the rules, right? For Edward and Jasper to be with us this way, I mean. Oh, God. I'm going to get him fired, aren't I?" I groaned as another thought popped into my head. "Then again, what if he doesn't feel this same way? He _said_ he did, but... I'm not discounting what he told me, really. I trust him. But what if he decides later it's not worth the risk to his job – his life – to be with me? Can I enjoy it now and know that I may be setting myself up for disapp—"

"Bella!" Alice interrupted loudly, snapping her fingers in front of my face. When I finally really looked at her, I saw exasperation and amusement on her face, as well as sympathy and love. "I've been calling your name for like...a whole minute," she huffed.

"Sorry," I said, flopping onto my back and covering my face. "I felt overwhelmed for a minute."

She laughed. "No kidding." Lying back, she turned on her side to face me. "First off, you can't think of the what ifs. They'll drive you crazy. You either trust him or you don't, and—"

"I do," I cut in.

Nodding, she continued, "Then you have to trust whatever he told you, and if he told you he's in this with you, then you gotta believe him. From what Jasper has said, Edward wouldn't have said anything like that if he hadn't meant it, okay?"

Nodding, I stayed quiet.

"Now, as to getting him fired, Jasper told me something their boss told him – and Edward, although at the time, it didn't exactly apply to him."

I listened as she explained what Al had told Jasper about the possibility of being with her before, during, and after the trial.

"So it's not encouraged, but they won't lose their jobs, either, especially since no one but the two of them and Al will know who we...used to be," she finished, shrugging. "And Edward knows just as well as Jasper that if they want a future with us, that future in Seattle as Alice Swan and Jasper Whitlock – or Bella Swan and Edward Cullen – will always be uncertain. He knows that, and he still said he wants to be with you. Okay?"

I remembered the look in Edward's eyes as he held me last night and again this morning, how it had felt like his heart was right there for me to see, and I nodded, smiling slowly.

"Okay."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

The grayish glow of a dreary morning barely gave my room any light as I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. Bella was still asleep, curled around my pillow. Cascades of dark hair flowed out behind her, long, beautiful eyelashes rested against her porcelain cheeks, and bare, smooth shoulders contrasted against dark blue sheets, but it was the furrowed brow, the slight shiver to her whole body that made my chest hurt.

Bella was fucking terrified of going back to New York. She tried to hide it, and in the light of day, she mostly succeeded, but at night was a different story. When she slept, which was now next to me – and had been since Uncle Al had given us a trial date two weeks ago – she couldn't hide her fears. Her subconscious was kicking her ass. I could protect her from mob goons, hitmen, and corruption, but I couldn't do shit about her nightmares except hold her, tell her she was safe...that I was safe, because it was my name she whimpered out loud in the dark. I wasn't even sure if she heard me.

Something about that scared the absolute shit out of me. What I once would've considered simply fucking was now...more. It was more than just sex, though it was amazing, mind-blowing sex. Bella and I were compatible in every way. I'd forgotten how fun sex could be, because I'd merely used it as a tool to blow off steam for so many years. It was just more. It was holding her in her sleep, the scent of her all over my sheets and skin, the sweet way she accepted everything I said with an open trust, but mostly, it was the smile that could light up a damn room and the warm cinnamon-colored eyes that gazed back at me with the same unasked questions, and the same need, that I had. I wanted her with me...at all times. And with all that was stacked against us in New York first and then Seattle, I was scared as hell to give any bit of it a name. To allow the word that was kicking around my heart to manifest and then fail her would destroy me, which was something I couldn't allow. I had to concentrate.

It was a week until we needed to have Alice and Bella – or technically, Mary and Marie – back in Manhattan to meet with the attorneys for pretrial prep. I stepped into the shower to wash off the sweat from my early morning run, thinking Al would be calling any time now. He'd told us that he needed to set up our security in New York, that he was personally overseeing it, and that alone let me relax a little. I just wasn't sure how long he'd wait to set up the plan with us.

Once I was clean, I wrapped a towel around my waist and stepped back into the room, frowning that Bella had curled up tighter around my pillow, as if it were a shield.

"Edward, no..."

I couldn't stay away from her if I tried. That tone was heartbreaking to hear, especially from someone I viewed as being so fucking strong. She could do this; I knew she could, but she didn't believe in herself. Or maybe she'd just seen way too much scary shit up until now.

Kneeling beside the bed, I brushed her hair from her face. "Bella... Sweetheart, it's just a dream. Open your eyes and look at me," I whispered, dropping a kiss to the wrinkle between her brows. I braced myself because waking her wasn't always well-received.

Bella gasped, struggling in the sheets, but gripping the pillow at the same time. Her hands then smacked at me, and I had no choice but to pin her down as gently as I could, trying to not have the shit smacked out of me. My girl was stronger than she looked.

"Hey, hey... Baby, it's just me. Look at me," I urged.

Her glazed, unfocused gaze finally trained on me, and she sagged back into the bed with a huge breath of relief, though I could see her fighting her tears.

"Shh," I soothed, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her and tugging the pillow away. "You're okay. I'm okay. Everyone's fine. It wasn't real. Got me?"

Her small hands skimmed up my chest, across my shoulders to the back of my neck. I knew this was her way of affirming that I was unharmed.

"Tease," I growled, kissing and biting at her neck until she was writhing beneath me. "Get this sweet, lazy ass out of bed. Jasper's almost finished making breakfast."

"Mm...Breakfast-in-a-Bowl?"

"That very thing." I chuckled at her excitement, sitting back up when she scooted up in the bed, holding the sheet around her – much to my disappointment. Bella had amazing tits.

"You showered?" she asked, running her fingers through my still-damp hair. When I nodded, she smirked. "So very sorry I missed that."

Grinning, I shrugged a shoulder. "Stop sleeping in."

"Stop wearing me out at night!" she argued playfully.

I paused, raising an eyebrow at her as the night before and several prior to that replayed in my mind. She'd been absolutely stunning as I took her from behind. "Nope, I'm afraid I can't do that."

She laughed, leaning up to kiss me quickly. "Well, too damn bad, Edward," she whispered. "I'm afraid I'll barely be able to walk today."

I frowned. "You're sore?" When she nodded, I pulled her to my lap, kissing her softly. "I'm sorry."

She grinned and then broke out into a giggle. "No, you're not."

I fought my smile and failed completely, but I buried it into her sleep-warmed skin. "No...no, I'm not. I really, really like the idea that every time you move, sit down, or walk – all damn day – you'll remember who put you in that state," I crooned in her ear, dropping long, slow, open-mouthed kisses to her neck and shoulder. Cupping her sweet, firm ass, I gave it a gentle squeeze, only to slip my hand between her legs to find that she was extremely wet, yet ultra sensitive. "Though, I am sorry that this sweet pussy is mad at me. My intention was not to offend her. Should I apologize? Kiss her and make it up to her?"

I licked my lips at just the mere idea of tasting her. Who the fuck needed breakfast?

"She's not offended," she said with a laugh, her head falling back; I couldn't help but lean in and press a chuckling kiss to her throat. "But if you come anywhere near her with that two-day stubble, there may be a revolt."

I snorted into a loud laugh. "Note to self: shave ASAP."

She grinned, biting down on her bottom lip as her fingers trailed along my stubbly jawline. "I like it, and it's really sexy, but just...not right now. I need a shower, and I'm starving."

I kissed her hard and then grinned. "Fair enough, baby."

I set her down onto her feet, giving my dick a stern mental warning as she walked into the bathroom completely naked. He didn't listen. Asshole.

The water came on, and I took a few deep breaths to control the desire to take another shower. Finally, I dressed in jeans and a T-shirt for the day and then walked back into the kitchen, where Jasper was setting a bowl in front of Alice.

"Another nightmare?" she asked, gazing up at me sadly.

I nodded, taking the bowl that Jasper was offering me and sitting down on the stool next to her. Jasper leaned against the other side of the counter, his own bowl in hand.

"She hasn't had them like this since Mike," she said softly, poking at her food with her fork. "Before that, it was when Gran died, and she had them when our parents died, too. She only has them when she's completely stressed out."

I scowled at the mention of that motherfucker. Like Jasper, I was sorely tempted to make sure Karma was giving Mike Newton what he deserved. My biggest hope was that life was fucking him hard – no kiss, no lube, nothing. It was all I could do not to call in favors to find out where the fuck he was. The possessive, vindictive asshole in me wanted to prove to him just how _un-_frigid, how _un-_boring Bella was, how fucking stunning she was coming for me. Just me.

"Bella's stronger than she thinks," I stated, and Alice smiled and nodded in agreement. "That asshole is proof of that."

"Ed," Jasper snorted, shaking his head and then taking a giant-ass bite of eggs and gravy. "If looks could kill, dude."

I shrugged, not apologizing for how I felt about ignorant little bullies, especially ones that projected their..._shortcomings_ onto others. I took a big bite of my breakfast, looking up when Bella joined us.

"There she is!" Jasper sang, dropping a bowl down in front of her. "Mornin', darlin'."

I fought my smile when Bella gingerly slid onto the stool next to me, hiding my grin behind another bite.

"Laugh it up, Edward," she sneered, narrowing her eyes playfully.

"All day," I mouthed to her, grunting when she poked me.

The levity of the moment was broken when the alarm for the front gate went off. We all froze for a split second before Jasper and I abandoned our breakfast and ran to the monitor for the cameras we'd placed in the foyer.

"Looks like...late model sedan...Ford, maybe? Chevy?" Jasper stated with narrowed eyes.

I turned to the girls, pointing toward the garage door. "Garage, ladies. I want you as close to the car as possible. Don't make a sound. And don't come out until one of us tells you to, okay?"

The sound of bowls being dropped onto the counter rattled through the house, but they both did as we asked, snatching the keys from the hook by the door and running into the garage. The door clicked softly closed, and I met Jasper's gaze.

"Guns at the ready," I told him, and he nodded silently in agreement.

There were now guns stashed in various places around the house – the kitchen, the garage, and even the table right beside the front door. We both picked up the nine mils from inside the drawer, chambering a round and flipping the safeties off. By the time I could hear the engine from the approaching car, Jasper had positioned himself on the opposite side of the door, one hand on the trigger, the other ready to send down the metal shutters of my house.

I peered through the curtain, waiting until the car stopped, and then rolled my eyes to Jasper. "Stand the fuck down," I sighed, yanking open the door. "You know, one day I'm just going to shoot your ass just for shits and giggles, and that'll be the end of it."

"Yeah, yeah, I've missed you, too, kid," Uncle Al laughed, flipping me a middle finger with one hand while the other held a file folder. "I'm just keeping you on your toes. I'm sure you've gotten lax hanging out at your old home. It's why I didn't call first."

"Psh. Whatever, old man. I have plenty keeping me on my toes," I stated, smiling when he pulled me into a rough hug.

He patted the side of my face, his brow furrowing.

"What?"

"You look...different."

I shrugged, letting him walk in. "I'll get the girls," I told Jasper.

"Gotcha," Jazz answered, offering Al some breakfast.

I tapped on the door – two sharp taps and then a single one. "Girls, it's me. Come on out." The door cracked open, and both sets of worried eyes gazed trustingly up at me. "It's only the Avon lady," I told them, grinning when Uncle Al snorted into a cup of coffee.

When the girls saw who it was, they relaxed instantly. "Hey, Uncle Al," they sang together, taking their stools at the counter again.

He grinned like a kid on fucking Christmas morning. "Ladies," he crooned with a dramatic bow. "I had a dream like that once: two gorgeous girls, everything in stereo, and..."

"Don't finish that fucking sentence," I warned him, picking up my almost empty bowl. "Dirty old man."

Bella giggled, shaking her head, but her leg hooked around mine surreptitiously behind the counter.

"Fine, fine...you cranky thing," Al huffed, smirking a little before taking another sip of coffee.

"Umm, Al, why are you here?" Bella asked nervously, pushing her unfinished breakfast away from her.

He sniffed, his facial expression suddenly solemn as he took in our faces. "I just flew in from New York, and boy, are my arms..."

We all groaned, rolling our eyes.

"Damn, you're a tough audience today. What? Is it too early?" he teased, but I could tell he was trying to ease the girls into what was about to be a serious and probably scary conversation.

"Al, I love ya, man, but this has been a rough few weeks comin'," Jasper stated, walking to stand behind Alice, which left Al the only one on the other side of the kitchen counter. "Just...spill it."

My uncle locked gazes with me, and I nodded in agreement, my hand squeezing Bella's leg to calm the bouncing. "They're scared enough, Al. Just tell us what you know."

He looked a little reprimanded, glancing between Alice and Bella. "My apologies, ladies." He slid the file folder my way, leaning on the counter.

I flipped it open, but everyone gazed over my shoulder. It seemed he had provided us with everything we'd need to keep the girls that much safer – pictures of the apartment building where we'd be staying, the men he'd added to the building to heighten security twenty-four-seven, and even photos of the lawyers the girls were supposed to see.

Al tapped the pile of pictures. "These are the people that are safe. You see anyone else, then you've got a problem." He took a deep breath and let it out. "You'll travel back to New York the same exact way you came west. In fact, it'll be the same plane, same pilots, and same landing sites. Except this time around, I've arranged for a short chopper ride from somewhere closer to Boise so you don't have to drive all the way to the base. You'll land back at the Air Force base just outside of Queens. I've arranged a transport to take you from there directly to the apartment building where you'll remain until the trial is over.

"Every single person on that security team has been thoroughly checked and hand-selected by me," he said, placing a hand over his heart. "Some were flown in from other states, some are from the Marshal's office in New York, but all of them are already in place. They are aware of the dangers, the requirements of getting you guys to and from the courthouse, and who is allowed in and out of that building. And trust me, that list is fucking limited – and no one is allowed up to your actual living quarters. There's a decoy apartment for meetings with lawyers in the same building only two floors lower."

"Fuck, that's perfect," I muttered, eyeing the building's layout, the real apartment's placement, and the exits we could use to not only get the girls safely in and out of the place, but to escape if we needed.

Uncle Al leaned onto his elbows, looking between the girls. "Ladies, the trial starts the sixth, but they need you earlier for pretrial prep. That means they'll be walking you through the questions they'll be asking you, the possible counter questions from the defense, and the way you'll need to act, dress, and answer."

"Okay," they both replied softly.

Al smiled softly. "The prosecution is completely aware of your security measures. They'll be addressing you as Mary and Marie, which means you _can't _use the names you've become used to, but as soon as the trial is over, you'll come back here, gather all your things, and make your way to Seattle. I'm working on finding you a temporary place to stay until you get on your feet and the DOJ has transferred all your old funds over to you." He gestured to me and Jasper. "These two ding-dongs will be with you every step of the way. Once you're in Seattle, they'll help you acclimate to your new lives."

Bella frowned, glancing up at me, and swallowed nervously before turning back to Al. "Um," she started, tucking her hair back behind her ear, "How long will we be in New York?"

"However long the trial is, Bella," I told her, squeezing her leg again. "Possibly a few weeks, depending on all they drag out."

Uncle Al nodded in agreement. "The bad news, which I can tell is your next question, is that you don't get to go into the courtroom together. I'm sure you expected that. However, due to the security issues, I have requested that one of the boys walk each of you to and from the courtroom – your choice on who goes with you," he said with a teasing grin to lighten all this shit up. "They are to remain there throughout your testimony, even if they merely stand at the back of the room. Okay?"

Both girls nodded, and I could've hugged my uncle for that one because I had been worried about sending Bella inside the courtroom with no one to support her. I'd sworn to her over and over that she wasn't alone, and now she truly didn't have to be.

Al looked to me, his eyes studying my face, before turning to Jasper. "I want your presence felt in that courtroom, gentlemen. You'll be armed, you'll wear your shield exposed, and you'll dress in courtroom attire. I want Volturi to know that he has more to get through than he assumes, because you won't be the only federal officers inside that room. Got me?"

"Sir," we both answered.

"Now, the good news is that there are rumors flying around. Very, very interesting rumors," he said, smiling evilly and cracking his knuckles. "They're saying the prosecution is trying to work a deal with Felix Guardiano."

"No shit?" I asked, my mouth hanging open.

"No shit," he replied.

"Wh-What does that mean?" Alice asked nervously. "'Cause he's the other guy that...that was there that night."

Al nodded. "He is, but he's Caius Volturi's right hand and personal guard. If they can make a deal with his foul ass, then they'll fucking _bury_ Caius for not only the murder, but for a helluva lot of other shit. He'll still do time, of course, but he'll most likely do it with another name in another state's prison."

"Huh. That'll start a mob war," I surmised, frowning at him. "Caius's men will seek blood."

"Possible. But it will completely take the pressure off these two pretty girls," he said with a nod. "Caius's demise will no longer rest on their shoulders, but on someone inside the family." He smiled and winked at the girls. "However, we probably won't know that until the last minute. Something of that magnitude will be kept as tightly wrapped as a dick in a condom that's too small. Which is pretty painful, by the way."

The girls laughed, but Jasper and I rolled our eyes.

He patted the file folder. "Keep that. Study it. All of you. I want you to be able to recognize – even with just a glance – who's on our side." He paused, looking between the girls with a warm gaze. He covered their hands with his. "Ladies, we'll get you through this. We're going to do our best to get you in there, keep you safe, and get you to your new home. Okay?"

Alice nodded, and Bella muttered a small, "Okay," back.

I sighed at just how blank and frightened their faces were. Without thinking, I slipped my fingers underneath Bella's hair to massage her neck.

"Easy, Bella," I whispered in her ear. "I know it's scary, but we're all right here with you."

Her fingers gripped my leg where Al couldn't see it, her body shaking a little before she gazed over at me and nodded.

"Okay," Al said, tapping the countertop. "I need to get back Seattle." He looked to me. "Son, can I have a word with you?"

Giving Bella's neck another gentle squeeze, I stood up and waited until he'd said his goodbyes. I followed him to his car, where instead of opening up the driver's side door, he leaned against it. He eyed me for a moment, smirking a little.

"Your sister is doing fine, though the doctors have given her orders to stop working. She's not quite confined to bed rest, but she's not allowed to do much, either," he started, holding up a hand when my brows furrowed and I opened my mouth. "She's _fine_, son. I swear to God. She told me to tell you to just stay safe, that your mother is taking to coming by just about daily to check on her. And she still thinks it's a girl." He chuckled, slapping my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "She's a tough one, but I've seen her, Ed. She looks great."

I grinned, nodding. "My parents are okay?"

"They're worried to death about you, but I've tried to let them know each time I've talked to you. They're proud of you."

Glaring down at my bare feet at the slight feeling of homesickness that settled over me, I nodded again. "Thanks, Uncle Al. Give them my love, yeah?"

"Will do," he said slowly. "She's changed you." His voice was tentative, but he wasn't teasing me; he was testing my reaction.

I huffed a laugh through my nose. "She's..."

"Important," he finished for me when I couldn't decide on what to say. When I nodded, he smiled again, patting the side of my face. "If anyone deserves it, it's you, Edward. What happened to you in college... Well, let's just say it was unfair. But you've been given a gift in there."

I glanced back at the house, smiling a little when I saw the girls dancing around with Jasper. He'd gotten their minds off the impending trial and focused them on a video game.

Turning back to Al, I said, "I can't fail her."

"_Her_ specifically?"

"Bella. I can't... Nothing can happen to her, Uncle Al. Promise me that if something happens to me in New York, you'll watch over her," I asked him. "Promise me."

His brow furrowed, he sniffed once, and then he nodded. "I'm gonna do my very best to get you _all_ home safe, son. Understand me?" he asked, waiting until I acknowledged him. "What's your plan after the trial?"

I shook my head. "I can't... I honestly don't know. I can barely think past New York, Al."

He patted my cheek. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Whitlock the last time I was here. If this is the route you choose to take, then you absolutely _must_ keep it quiet, which means, you can't even look at her the wrong way in New York, Edward. You must be completely professional at all times. The other marshals, the members of Volturi's family, even the prosecution can't know how you feel about her. Got me? What happens behind locked doors is one thing, but what you show everyone else is another."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. That being said, we'll deal with Seattle when you get there, because I have faith in you, kid." He sighed, looking at my face. "She really is good for you. I was giving you shit the last time, but..." He patted my shoulder and smiled. "When you leave here, lock this bitch down air-tight, and leave those girls' identities here. I have faith in you, so I'll meet you back here when the trial is over."

"Sir."

"Okay, now go take care of your girl. She's scared to damn death." He opened the car door and got in. He grinned, and I could tell he was about to spew some teasing bullshit my way. "So, you gonna tell me how it feels to be knocked on your ass?"

I snorted, shaking my head. I wanted to tell him it felt amazing and scary, like I couldn't catch my breath, but I didn't.

"Ask me that when I get to Seattle," I told him, smirking when he laughed his ass off, but really, I didn't have an answer to give him that didn't scare the ever-loving shit out of me. I was terrified that something would happen once we had crossed back into Volturi's territory. I was afraid to bank on any future of any kind.

"Stick a fork in him, ladies and gentlemen. He's done," he said, still chuckling. "Good for you, kid. She's a sweet, beautiful girl. Now, keep your wits about you, and we'll get you all back safe. I'll call you in a few days, tell you where to be."

"Yes, sir." I patted the top of the car before he backed out.

When I turned to go back inside, Bella was standing on the front porch.

"You okay?" she asked.

I smiled, unable to not kiss her forehead. "Yeah, sweetheart. I'm fine."

"Good, 'cause Jazz and Alice are cheating and ganging up on me."

I grinned, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. "Then let's go kick their ass, yeah?"

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: If you guys haven't figured it out, the trip back east is looming over them. And you can see our couple is getting closer and closer, but poor, poor Edward is worried about a lot of things – keeping them safe, the trial, Volturi, and the future in general. All those things are weighing heavily on both our U.S. Marshals.**

**The only recs I have this week are two re-reads I've been enjoying... _The Fallout_ by OCDindeed and _Full Circle_ by our own JenRar. :D Both Vampward, both very, very good.**

**We'll see you guys soon for the teaser on Wednesday (if you would like it via PM on FFn instead of getting it on Facebook or Twitter, please let us know!) and then again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb :)**

**[Note from Jenny: I posted an Alec/Jane one-shot last night and have a short Emmett/Bella, Edward/Bella, Em/B/E story I'll be posting up shortly. Both are very kinky, on the extreme end of the lemon scale, so if that's your thing, make sure you put me on alert! :) – Jen]**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N #1: If we don't say it enough, your support of our stories is absolutely incredible, and we are so thankful to all of you who have read, reviewed, recommended, and fallen in love with both _Coming Home_ and _In Pursuit_. Deb and I truly appreciate you all.**

**No questions this week. I know you all are anxious for this part, so...NYC, here we come! See Deb at the bottom! ;) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 16**

**Bella POV**

I sat beside Alice, clutching her hand nervously, as the plane finally leveled off. We'd left Forks at five o'clock in the morning, driving four hours to Portland, where Al had arranged for a helicopter to fly us the rest of the way to the Air Force base outside of Boise. He must have called in all sorts of favors, because while I had no idea what kind of helicopter it was, I _did know_ it was big, black, and scary-looking, and it had gotten us all to the military base in two and a half hours, rather than the eight or whatever it had taken us last time.

It didn't help that Edward had been pretty much hands-off since leaving the car in Portland. The only time he was touching me was when he was guiding me to and from the car to the helicopter or from the helicopter to the plane. My nerves were already frayed, and I was feeling hot and suffocated from the stupid – but necessary, I knew – Kevlar vest under my hoodie. I'd argued after getting onto the plane that we could take it off while in the air, but Edward had been insistent about leaving it on. I'd tried to fight him on it, but his piercing look had quelled any more protests from me.

Our pilots were the same two that had flown us before, and while I couldn't have sworn to it, I thought it was the same plane, as well. The woman, Davies, had smiled at us, kind of a warm, friendly, comforting gesture, but had stayed quiet after a simple hello. Iverson had been much more animated, shaking hands with Edward and Jasper and giving Alice and me a big smile and making jokes about the in-flight entertainment and dinner options. Once we'd loaded onto the plane, he'd spoken quietly with Edward and Jasper while Alice and I had buckled in.

"How ya doin', ladies?" Jasper asked from the bench seat across from us. "Hangin' in there?"

I nodded, but barely, as Alice did the same.

"Come with me, baby," Edward said as he unbuckled his seat belt and stood, holding his hand out to me.

Alice squeezed my hand before letting me go so I could undo my own belt, and then I stood and took Edward's hand.

He led me down the short hall of the plane to the bedroom where we'd had our first kiss. When he'd shut the door behind us, he gestured to the hoodie. "Take that off..."

Raising an eyebrow, I unzipped the sweatshirt and pulled it off.

Edward stepped up and then began loosening the Velcro holding the vest tight around me. The moment he pulled it off, I sucked in a deep breath.

"God, that feels better. That thing is miserable," I complained, falling down to the edge of the bed.

He dropped it to the floor with my hoodie before sitting down beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "But necessary," he reminded me firmly.

"I know, Edward." I shuddered, feeling my nerves flare again. "Believe me, I remember."

Huffing, Edward pulled me onto his lap, wrapping me up tight in his arms as I clung to him, fisting the back of his shirt in my hands.

"I'm so scared," I gasped as I buried my face in his neck and breathed deep. The scent of him, so familiar now, calmed me as nothing else could.

With one hand pressed against the small of my back, holding me against him, the other was in constant motion, soothing as he moved over my hair, my back, my arm...anywhere he could reach.

"Fuck, Bella..."

His curse had come out almost angry, but I pulled back to look at him, I could tell it wasn't directed at me.

Pressing his forehead to mine, he uttered quietly, "If I could make it all go away, take you away from here and have us as far from New York as I could, I would."

"I know, Edward," I whispered, gently kissing him. "This helps, okay? Having you here with me."

It was true. The longer I was in his arms, the quieter my panic got, until it had become a background noise in my head instead of living, breathing entity inside me.

Soft kisses turned into caresses, and when Edward unbuttoned my jeans and his fingers delved into my panties, finding me soft and wet and needy, he groaned quietly. I bit my lip as he slid first one finger, then another, inside me, stroking me as I rocked my hips. When his thumb brushed against my clit again and again, he swallowed my cries with his lips as he kissed me hard.

"Off," I gasped, reaching for the button of his jeans.

"Bella, baby, this was for—"

"Please!" I begged, needing to feel him inside me, surrounding me from all sides.

I scrambled off his lap and kicked off my shoes before tugging my jeans and panties down in one movement. By the time I climbed back on Edward's lap, his jeans and boxer-briefs were around his ankles. He guided me as I lowered myself down on his length, sighing as he filled and stretched me.

He hissed out a curse as I began to move, slowly rocking my hips. With one hand on my hip in a bruising grip, the other moved to my ponytail and tugged, forcing my head back. Then his lips were on my neck, pressing open-mouthed kisses, lightly sucking the skin between his teeth to bite down, and pushing me to the edge quickly.

Edward kissed his way up my neck to my ear, where he whispered, "Come for me again, baby. I want to feel you."

With his arms holding me, his heavy breathing in my ear, and his cock filling me so deeply, I shattered around him, burying my face in his neck again to smother my cries. My orgasm drew out his own, and he thrust up hard once as I felt his cock jerk and he spilled into me.

"Christ, Bella," he panted, forehead to forehead again as we tried to catch our breaths. "I so did not plan on doing that when I brought you back here."

I laughed a shaky laugh. "Are you sorry?"

"Hell no," he answered immediately, grinning as I giggled.

When we were both breathing normally, I pulled myself off him. Before I could reach down for my clothes, Edward was there, tissue in hand. He said nothing as he gently cleaned up the mess we'd made that had already spilled out to my inner thighs. When he stood, he used another tissue on himself and then tucked his still half-hard cock back into his clothes.

"I'm going to hit the bathroom, and then I'll be out, okay?"

I nodded, accepting his kiss before he stepped out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed so I could re-dress in private.

~oOo~

For four hours, we talked and watched a movie on the television along one wall. I spent time filling out puzzles in the puzzle books I'd packed and basically tried to not let my nerves get the best of me. But when Edward put down the file he'd been reading and spoke, I felt my stomach knot again and had to swallow down the bile that threatened to rise.

"Let's talk before we land, ladies," he said, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees. When Alice and I nodded for him to go on, he continued. "I know we've been over the rules already, but I want to go over them one more time." He held up his hand when Alice and I both opened out mouths to protest. "Please, for my sake."

I sighed and sat back, nodding that I understood.

"Vests," he began, looking pointedly at the Kevlar on the seat beside me and then across at Alice's, which had also been discarded for the flight. "Before we step out of this plane, both of you will have those on. They will be on any time we step foot outside the apartment."

"Yours, too, right?" I asked quietly, but firmly. That was one thing Alice and I had agreed on and had put our feet down about.

Edward and Jasper both nodded.

"Yeah, darlin'," Jasper voiced. "We agreed, remember?"

"Just making sure," I mumbled, fidgeting in place.

"Second," Edward continued. "We've all memorized the names and faces of the people Uncle Al has in place, so just be aware. Watch out for people you don't recognize from that list. If you see someone you think shouldn't be there, point them out to us immediately and we'll make sure you're secure before looking into it. Got me?"

Once again, we nodded.

With a sigh, he reached over and took my hand. "Finally... Look, it's no secret that Bella and I are together now, and same goes for the two of you," he said, looking over at Jasper and Alice. "As much as I hate to say it, you ladies will have to be prepared for things to change a little bit."

"Change?" Alice asked, looking between Edward and Jasper.

"The moment we step off this plane," Edward said, "if we're around anyone else – be it strangers, lawyers, or other marshals – we are not couples. You two are witnesses, and we are the two law enforcement officers assigned to protect you. Anything more, and things could get very messy for all of us."

"What about...in private?" I asked, worrying how I would handle sleeping alone during our stay in New York, when my nightmares were sure to be at an all-time high. Edward was the only person I knew would be able to make them manageable at best.

Jasper shook his head. "Not much will have to change in private. As long as it's just the four of us _in the apartment_," he said, stressing the last three words. "Anytime we're outside that little bubble, it has to be just like Ed said."

Alice and I both echoed, "Okay."

"Couple more things," Edward continued, settling back in the seat and keeping my hand in his. "Captain Iverson spoke with the two of us when we got on the plane, and as long as you ladies are okay with it, he's arranged for some leave – he's at the end of his final month of service anyway, so he and Al pulled some strings – and he would like to be one of the guards while we're in New York. He'll mainly accompany the four us of anytime we step out of the apartment – whether it be to the meeting with the lawyers or to the courthouse."

"How'd he know?"

"He put two and two together after flying us out last time, and when Al contacted him about flying us back, he brought up the idea," Jasper said, answering Alice's question.

"What do you think?" I asked Edward. "I mean, are you guys okay with it?"

Edward nodded. "Uncle Al trusts him. As long as you're okay with it, then I'm good."

I shrugged. "I'm fine with that. I like him. He's been really helpful."

"Yeah, it's fine with me," Alice agreed.

"Good. I'll let him know before we leave the plane, then," Edward said, smiling over at me and squeezing my hand. "Now try to relax. We should be landing soon."

~oOo~

The next half hour was a blur. I was aware enough to listen when Edward and Jasper helped us put our vests back on and told us to put our hoodies over them and add our baseball caps and sunglasses shortly before landing.

After the seat belt sign was turned off, Edward said, "Stay here with Jasper. I'll be right back."

We waited in silence while Edward was gone. Alice and I huddled together on the bench seat as Jasper stood sentry near the door.

Edward came back in a few minutes later. "Okay, time to go," he said. "There are two marshals outside that will escort us to the apartment. Iverson's already left with all the bags."

He motioned Jasper to go first, and then we all followed him down the steps from the plane.

The two marshals were standing by the car – a black SUV that reminded me way too much of the one parked outside my office the night of Eleazar's murder. Each had a hand on the weapon at their waist, and they were scanning the area around the plane and the SUV.

Edward and Jasper ushered us into the back seats. Jasper and Alice climbed all the way to the back, then Edward and I took the two middle seats. Once we were seated, Edward reached over and banged a fist on the window. The two marshals moved almost as one and climbed into the front seats, then with a turn of the key, we were off, leaving the only place I felt truly safe in New York.

~oOo~

"God, that was a long drive," Alice grumbled. "I'd forgotten how much of a pain it is to drive in the city."

I silently agreed, but panic was threatening to overwhelm me, so I kept my mouth shut and concentrated on breathing and not passing out.

It had taken us almost forty-five minutes by the time the SUV pulled up to the apartment building in Chelsea. We were waved right through the gate at the entrance to the underground garage, and I turned to see the long arm lowering back across the entrance.

"For the duration of your stay here," the marshal in the passenger seat said, "the two men at the garage entrance will always be ours. The regular security has been temporarily reassigned to another building."

"Thanks," Edward said, not mentioning that we'd already known that. Al had been sure to include that in his report.

Once the SUV was pulled up to the doors, the two marshals got out first, and then Edward climbed out, motioning for Alice and me.

It was much darker inside the garage than it had been in the SUV, even with the tinted windows, so I stumbled a bit getting out of the vehicle, but Edward caught me and helped right me onto my feet.

"Careful," he murmured.

Jasper went ahead of us, following the two marshals, who opened a door marked Lobby. Alice and I were behind him, with Edward right behind us.

The only thing that kept me upright and not bolting for the plane back to Forks was Edward's hand on my shoulder. As it was, I was so scared I could barely breathe, and I was shaking like a leaf.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

My hand landed gently on Bella's and Alice's shoulders as Jasper followed the two guards up the steps and into the main lobby of the apartment building. I wasn't sure what I hated more: being back in New York, or the shaking that was going on underneath my hands from the two of them. What comforted me just a little was the feel of the Kevlar vests the girls were sporting underneath their large hoodies. And as promised, Jasper and I were wearing ours, as well. Bella and Alice would have it no other way.

We stepped through the side entrance into a pristine and fairly upscale lobby, where the décor was more sleek and cold than welcoming. However, a simple scan of the area gave me a bit of peace. Iverson had positioned himself at the front security desk, but I could tell without even asking that the doorman out front, the receptionist at the front counter, and the guy slowly approaching were all feds. They were all carrying, too.

Through the front glass doors across the atrium, the streets of the city were busy, but inside the lobby was pretty quiet. A few residents entered, exited, or milled about on their phones, but no one that gave me a bad vibe. It was a pretty expensive area from what I could tell, so the people living there looked distracted, bored, and spoiled.

I took off my sunglasses but left my baseball cap on, and Jasper followed suit. The girls stayed covered up, per our instructions. The large man finally met up with us, giving a quick, solemn nod. I recognized him from Al's file as Damon Santiago. My uncle had highlighted his name as who we'd consider the head of the security in the building.

"Chambers sent you, right?" he asked softly, and I detected a hint of a Hispanic accent. At our nods, he smiled a bit. "Santiago," he introduced himself.

"Cullen," I stated, shaking his hand firmly, only to place mine right back onto Bella's shoulder.

"Whitlock," Jasper said, giving him a nod before scanning the lobby like I'd done.

"Let me get you guys upstairs, and I'll go over a few things, okay?" He turned to the two men that had ushered us inside from the garage, muttering, "As you were," before leading us to the elevators.

He let the doors close and pulled out a small set of keys, putting one into the panel on the wall. Turning it toward the label "penthouse," we started to ascend. When the elevator opened again, there were two doors at each end of the hallway.

"Everyone take a deep breath. You're twelve stories up, and the only way up here is with a key. You have one and I have the other," he said, smiling softly and patting his front pocket. "You're in Penthouse Two," he said, gesturing to the right. "The other one is empty. The owners are currently spending the month in Cabo or some shit. Sorry, ladies."

Alice smirked and Bella shrugged, both waving him to go on, but they continued to stay quiet.

He unlocked the door and ushered us all in. The place was furnished with warm colors, but there were no personal touches – no photographs, no mail, no magazines. In fact, the place smelled unused and like it had recently been redecorated with new paint, new leather furniture, and new carpet. It gave off a feel of a really expensive, really sleek hotel room.

"Bedrooms are to the left and right," he instructed, pointing toward two hallways jutting off from the main living room. "There are three, though there is an office with a pullout sofa. You have two bathrooms and one in the hall. There's the kitchen, which Chambers had stocked for you, and then there's this..." He walked to the wall, where an intercom system was built in next to the door. "Anytime you need us, this is patched in directly to the security desk. We'll notify you if someone comes in asking for you, and you can notify us if you have any problems." He turned to fully face us, leaning against the wall. "Every employee here has been completely checked out. But..." He held up a finger. "Every single member of security is from the U.S. Marshal Service. Some of us are retired, some were brought in on special assignment, but every last one of us are here to keep this place locked down."

I eyed him for a moment, thinking he looked kind of young to be retired, but a closer look told me he was probably older than he seemed. "Thanks," I said, giving him a nod.

"Don't thank me yet. This city's underground is in chaos," he stated, placing a hand on his chest. "I'm from the New York office, and it was my team that escorted Caius from county jail to the courthouse for his arraignment. If he's convicted, we'll be the ones to transfer him once he's sentenced from county to whatever state penitentiary they choose. The bastard is calm, cool, and collected, despite the fact that they're asking for a life sentence."

I caught movement by the large windows. Bella stared at Santiago for a second before tugging off her sunglasses. Her hat came next, spilling long, dark waves down her back before she faced the window again. I knew the one word she'd caught in that whole explanation was "if." _If_ Caius wasn't convicted, then she and her sister could possibly be on the run for the rest of their lives. He'd hunt them down just to teach them a lesson.

Frowning, I shoved my hands into my front pockets to keep myself from going to her. Instead, I turned back to Santiago. "The schedule for the next few days looks pretty tight. Is it still the same?"

"Yeah," he said, walking to the kitchen counter and grabbing a sheet of paper. "You'll meet with the prosecution two floors below this one in a separate apartment at nine A.M. starting tomorrow for the next three days. They'll tell you when the girls are being called to the stand." He handed me the itinerary. "When you've found out the dates they're going to testify, we'll figure out the best way to get you downstairs, across town, and inside the courtroom unnoticed. The gentleman that came with you – Iverson – he'll ride with you every time. He's military, but Chambers has asked him to shadow you."

"Unmarked transport?" Jasper asked.

Santiago was shaking his head and smiling. "We'll have access to a couple of decoy vehicles – some are ours, and some are the calling in of favors. We'll alternate what we drive to mix shit up." He grinned, holding up his hand when I started to protest. "Relax. My wife's brother owns a bakery in Brooklyn. He's agreed to let me use his delivery van as long as I help him with the roof on his house."

I snorted. "Fair enough, sir."

"I'll let you get settled in. I don't know if you want to check out the other apartment or not, but I can show it to you," Santiago offered.

Jasper and I glanced at each other, but his eyes took in the girls speaking quietly across the room.

"I'll go," he volunteered.

Jasper followed Santiago out the door, and I turned to the girls. Alice's panicked expression met my gaze behind Bella's back.

"Bella?" I called softly, and she spun to me.

"Edward, I can't breathe with this on!" she panted, clawing at the zipper of her hoodie.

"Okay, okay," I soothed, sitting on the arm of the sofa but pulling her between my legs. "Relax for me, sweetheart," I urged her, unzipping her sweatshirt. I pushed it off her shoulders as Alice mumbled something about getting Bella something to drink, but even she was working her way out of her vest in a hurry. "Eyes on me, Bella," I instructed, ripping the Velcro straps of the Kevlar vest. Dark brown and worried met mine, and I slid the vest off her arms and dropped it to the floor on top of her hoodie. "Better?"

She swallowed and nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out as she scratched at her stomach over her T-shirt. "I hate being here. I wish we could skip all this." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"I know, baby," I whispered back, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "You're doing fucking awesome, okay? And you'll do the same in court." I smiled when her eyes rolled at my words. "You will."

Alice walked up beside us, handing Bella a cold bottle of water at the same time Jasper walked back in the door. "You okay?" she asked her sister, and Bella nodded back.

I patted the side of Bella's thigh. "Why don't you two go pick the rooms you want, okay? We'll chill out for a bit."

I watched Alice guide Bella down the hallway, shaking my head a little at how the two worked. Alice was chatty, even though she was just as worried as her sister. Where Bella was usually the calm one, this time, their personalities switched in order to maintain their sanity in the scariest of moments.

The ripping of Velcro caught my attention, and I turned to see Jasper removing his vest.

"She okay?" he asked as I followed his lead and escaped out of my own vest.

I shrugged a shoulder and snatched the cap off my head, gathering up all the clothes and draping them over the chair for the moment just to get them off the floor. "They're scared to fucking death," I stated with a grip to my hair, wandering into the kitchen to see just how "stocked" it really was. One glance inside the fridge and cabinets, and I snorted. "Stocked, my ass."

Jasper chuckled, peering over my shoulder. "There were a couple of places on the corner. Want me to go grab something for now? We can really stock up tomorrow after the meeting."

"Nah, we'll keep it simple," I told him, grabbing the loaf of bread, some cheese, and a few cans of tomato soup. "I guarantee they won't eat much anyway."

Jasper agreed and muttered something about checking out the giant TV in the living room while I started to make us all something to eat. I glanced up when Bella walked softly into the kitchen.

"Want help?" she asked.

Grinning, I nodded and guided her to the counter. "Hell, fuck...yes! Come on, Miss I-Make-A-Mean-Grilled-Cheese." I kissed her neck loudly, smiling when she snickered and squirmed a little. "Did you pick a room?"

"I did. It was a pretty big debate, but the jacuzzi tub won out over scenic view," she stated firmly, but smirked when I raised an eyebrow at her. "What? Mr. Mean-Gruff-Marshal has never had a bubble bath?"

"Um, not since I was like...five."

She grinned as she focused on buttering the bread, and it was good to see, considering she could barely speak a few minutes ago. "That will be remedied soon enough, Edward."

We worked together in the kitchen quietly, all of us opting to eat in the living room on the really large L-shaped sofa. Reality television was voted out, and so was any show featuring crime, law, or courtrooms. That left us with a limited selection of movies on the shelf. We settled on the remake of _Ocean's Eleven, _which had something for everyone – humor, action, and Julia Roberts for the girls.

Bella and I took the chaise, but about halfway through the movie, I could tell she wasn't even looking toward the TV. Instead, her gaze was trained outside, looking over the city as her fingers trailed up and down my arm.

Bending to her ear, I whispered, "You still want that bath?"

At her silent nod, I stood us up, and we bid Alice and Jasper goodnight. The room Bella had decided on was a decent size, furnished with the same modern look as the rest of the house, but the colors were earthy tones – tans, creams, dark browns. The bathroom was a different story. It was natural dark gray stone, a separate shower from the large tub, and bright, shiny fixtures.

There was a part of me that knew we were using this new physical thing between us to distract ourselves from everything scary, everything that probably should be talked about. It was the reason I'd tried to stop her on the plane. I'd only wanted to take away her fear, but it always branched out into more. Always more. It was like no amount of touching, kissing, fucking was enough. But it was damned impossible to focus when Bella turned on the hot water, turned to face me with that dark gaze, and then reached for the hem of my shirt, wrenching it off over my head.

I grabbed her hands when she reached for the button of my jeans and sat down on the closed lid of the toilet, pulling her to stand between my legs. As the room filled with steam from the hot water, I slowly undressed her, not saying a word, but trying to tell her with every touch, every kiss to each newly exposed section of skin, that I just wanted to take away her fears.

I shook my head at the bare beauty that stood before me, but her eyes wouldn't meet mine. "Bella, look at me," I said, skimming my hands up and down her sides all the way to her thighs and back up her ribs. Goosebumps broke out over her skin, but she finally looked at my face. "Tell me what scares you. Are you worried about tomorrow?"

She shook her head, swallowing thickly. "Not tomorrow...just... I don't want to mess up. I want to do the right thing, but it's...hard. I just really wish it was all over."

I stood up in front of her, but cupped her face in both hands. "You _won't_ mess up. All have to do is tell the truth, Bella. That's all you're there for." When she merely nodded, I said, "Get in."

Stripping the rest of my clothes off, I stepped into the tub, situating myself behind her. The water was warm and her skin slick against my own. I dropped small, soft kisses to her bare shoulders, trying to keep my dick under control, but he was having none of it. Bella was too close and felt too good with her back pressed against him.

"Turn around," I whispered in her ear.

Once she was straddling me, I picked up the scrubby thing on the side of the tub and the body wash next to it. It smelled just fine, but it wasn't what Bella normally used. She braced her hands on my shoulders, her fingers trailing over the ink on my upper arm – around the blades and over each scale.

I washed each of her arms, her shoulders, and her breasts, smirking when her nipples peaked high and tight for me.

"For someone who hasn't had a bath in a long time, you're doing fine," she teased with a smirk, stealing the scrubby from me and doing the same thing to me.

I frowned and cleared my throat dramatically. "Well, I can imagine things haven't changed all that much. The basics essentially stayed the same. Besides, it gives me a chance to touch you. That's never, ever a bad thing."

She giggled and rolled her eyes at me, dropping the scrubby in the water and grasping either side of my face. She leaned forward and kissed my lips softly, only to pull back and start scrubbing again – this time, my chest and stomach.

"What was that for?" I asked her, skimming my hands up the outside of her thighs, over her sweet ass that was planted on my lap, and up her back.

"For making me feel safe." She shrugged a shoulder.

Pulling the scrubby out of her hands, I tossed it aside in order to hug her close. I pressed a slow kiss at the top of her left breast, gazing up at her.

"But you're still scared," I guessed.

Her nose wrinkled adorably, and she nodded. "Yeah. That...that other guy today said _if_ Volturi gets convicted. What if... Edward, what if he goes free? What do I do then? What do Alice and I do? I don't want to move and move and keep moving forever. I just...I can't do that. It's killing me to do it this time."

"Shh," I breathed against her lips. "You and Alice saw him, heard him. You just have to tell that in court. Lawyers can pull all the tricks they want, try to prove something else, but the truth of the matter is...he killed your boss, Bella." I pulled back to look her in the eye. "Volturi is surrounded by liars, criminals, and thieves who'll say anything to keep the money rolling in. You and Alice are squeaky clean – no criminal record, no shady jobs – and you're risking every-fucking-thing by testifying. The jury will see that."

"Is that putting too much faith in the system?" she asked bitterly.

"Maybe," I admitted with a shoulder shrug. "And if it was only one of you, I'd say you'd have a valid point, but having you _and_ Alice stating the same thing, Bella, you'll only be solidifying the truth."

She stared at me for an immeasurable amount of time, her sweet chocolate eyes sweeping over every inch of my face, followed by the tips of her fingers. I'd have given anything to have heard her mind at the moment because so very many emotions swept over her face, including fear, want, and sadness.

"I miss Forks," she suddenly stated.

I grinned, chuckling a little. "You're the first person in history to ever utter those words. Boring-ass little town," I teased her, but I knew what she was saying. Since the start of all this shit, Forks had provided a safe haven for the girls, something normal and easy. No one knew we were there, except for Al.

She smiled again, biting her bottom lip. "Edward?"

"Hmm?" I hummed, unable to resist the sweet, wet skin of her neck. Dragging my teeth softly across the soft spot behind her ear, I smiled when she whimpered a little.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said, her voice wavering when I bit on her neck again. "This feels like we're standing on the edge of a cliff and tomorrow we have to jump."

"What do you want, Bella? Tell me," I commanded, ghosting my lips across her throat to kiss the other side of her neck. Her fingers threaded into my hair to hold me there, but her body started to shift over me.

"You."

I sucked her earlobe into my mouth, scraping my teeth over it. "Tell me where, baby. Tell me how. You want me to take you here in the water? Or out on that bed in there?"

Gripping my hair almost painfully, she urged my gaze to hers. Pressing her forehead to mine, she said, "I don't care. Just make it go away for now. Please..."

I could only nod. Lifting her up, I helped her out of the tub and stepped out behind her. I took my time drying her off, making sure to rub the sensitive places that made her gasp.

"Edward, please..."

Smiling evilly, I turned her around just to dry off her back to prolong it. "Forget every bit of shit outside of what's right here, Bella. Focus on what you feel." Drying myself off quickly, I tossed the towel over the rack and pulled Bella's back to my chest. "Do you trust me?" I asked softly in her ear, flattening my hands over her stomach, only to cup her sweet tits in my hands. They were heavy, natural, and fit perfectly.

"Y-Yeah. More..."

Rolling her peaks between my thumbs and forefingers, I asked, "Like this?"

"No, more," she whined, dragging out the word at the same time her ass arched back against my dick.

Keeping a breast in one hand, I slipped the other down to the apex of her legs, tapping lightly on the inside of her thighs. "Spread those legs for me, beautiful. Maybe this is what you want, hmm?" I crooned at the juncture of her neck and shoulder while my fingers teased the outside of her pussy.

Bella's head fell back to my shoulder, but her own hand reached back between us to wrap her fingers around my aching cock. I stopped her, placing both her hands on the vanity in front of us. Her fiery gaze met mine in the mirror, and I shook my head.

"Not yet, Bella. I can wait for mine, but what I can't wait for is the sight of you coming around my fingers," I practically growled into her neck. I bent her slightly at the waist, spread her legs wider, and slipped right back between her folds. "And I want to _watch_..."

"Fuck, Edward!"

I grinned into the bite to her shoulder, but my eyes stayed on my hand that continued to move between her legs. She was so, so wet, and it wasn't from the bath. It was slick and hot, coating my fingers as I delved into her pussy with shallow strokes. My thumb teased around her clit, not giving her the pressure that she probably wanted and not touching it directly, which only caused my name to come out of her mouth like another curse word.

"Patience, beautiful," I soothed her, using my free hand to grasp her hair and wrench her head to the side. "Eyes on the mirror," I purred against her cheek. Deep, heated brown locked with mine, where the green was almost gone with how badly I was drugged by her. "Do you want to come, Bella?"

She nodded fervently, but her eyes betrayed her, dropping down to where I was inside of her. I curled my fingers just right, reaching that soft spot along the upper wall, my fingers so drenched that I could hear what I was doing to her. My thumb pressed down, causing her breathing to hitch. Her core clenched hard, but before she could truly release, I pulled away.

"Shit," she hissed, but her hands gripped the vanity counter like it was a lifeline.

"I think..." I started with a falsely innocent tone, soothing her hand with my own and covering her skin with her own arousal. Once it was relaxed again, I pulled it away from the edge of the sink and slid it down to where I'd been touching her. "I think... _You_ should show me how you want it."

It was the single sexiest thing I'd ever seen, watching her own hand gliding between her legs. I couldn't decided where to keep my eyes – on her face, which was lost to what was in the mirror, or on her hand, where the muscles rolled under her skin. Giving her nipple a tweak with one hand, I slipped my other down her arm just to feel her fingers working her clit.

"Oh, now, you know you want more than that, Bella," I chided, tapping her middle finger with my own and pushing it deep inside of her pussy. My thumb encouraged hers by circling where she was the neediest. "That's much better, don't you think?" I asked. My dick twitched when I couldn't help but grind between her ass cheeks.

"So close, baby. Please, please..." she begged, and that only made me harder to hear her pleading for it.

I worked our hands together, curling our fingers inside at the same time that I let go of her breast and gripped her hair again. Forcing her gaze to mine in the mirror, I sucked the side of her neck.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" I asked her, smiling when she tried to nod but couldn't due to my grip in her hair. "You want to let it all go?"

She nodded again, her mouth hanging open as she squeezed our fingers inside her.

"When you come, I'm then going to take you just like this. Fuck you from behind so you feel it all fucking day tomorrow. Do you know why?"

"Jesus, Edward," she panted, her eyes almost black as she shook her head.

"So that every time you move, you'll feel what I did to you. I want you to remember that. If you're scared, nervous, or anxious, just cross those perfect legs and you'll know I'm right..._there_," I hissed in her ear at the same time that I forced our thumbs down onto her swollen bundle of nerves.

"Fuck!" she growled, her eyes rolling back as she came hard. Her insides fluttered around our fingers, her clit throbbing.

"Thatta girl," I praised her, riding out her spasms, but I wrapped an arm around her to keep her knees from buckling. "So fucking beautiful," I whispered, mostly to myself, as I watched her come undone.

Reaching down, I picked up her leg and set her foot on the vanity, guiding my dick slowly into her slick heat. My forehead fell to her shoulder for a moment, my breathing coming to a halt.

"Sweet Jesus," I groaned, my eyes rolling back into my head as I started to move. "I've never... Fuck, nothing feels this good."

That was the goddamn truth. I'd never felt anything like it. It was all-consuming and so very hot and tight. It was the need to possess every inch of her, claim her, mark her as mine, and it was getting closer and closer to the surface of everything. It was like swimming upstream to try to fight it.

Lifting my head, I shifted in order to grip her hips. Both sets of eyes were locked in the mirror to where we were connected. It was sexy and probably the most intimate thing I'd ever done. And that alone started my climax to loom closer. I thrust harder, swiveling my hips in order to hit that spot in her one more time, snaking my hand to her front to touch her.

I didn't have to tell her to wait for me. She held off. I could feel it as she squeezed around me, hear it in her breathing. And when her head fell back to my shoulder, her face in my neck, teeth scraping my jaw, the burn in my stomach and lower back was too much to stave off.

"Come, Edward," she commanded in my ear, her heavy breathing sounding so sexy as she let go.

Finally caving, I lost it completely. Pressing my forehead to her temple and pulling her hips back hard as I stilled inside her, I grunted hard. We were still for a moment, our eyes locking in the mirror as we calmed down. Slowly, I pulled out of her and gingerly set her leg back to the bathmat. The need to care for her was overwhelming me at the moment, so I grabbed the towel I'd dried her off with and proceeded to clean her and then myself up. I caught my own gaze in the mirror, and what I saw made my chest ache. My need for her, my feelings, were almost a neon sign in the middle of my forehead.

Scooping her up, I buried that shit down as far as it could go by kissing her on the way into the bedroom. There was a part of me that didn't give a damn who could see how I looked at her, but the logical part of me knew that it could get us all killed. It would throw up a red flag, and that I couldn't have. I needed to maintain the public facade. But I was hating it.

As we slid into bed, Bella rolled to face me. "Edward, what's wrong?"

I swallowed nervously, leaning into her touch...feeding on it. I fucking _needed_ that shit. And suddenly, I realized what Bella had meant earlier. I kissed her nose, cheek, and then lips.

"I miss Forks, too, Bella."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: This is where things start to get real. Pre-trial prep, the lawyers, the questions...all coming up. Are your seat belts fastened? ;)**

**My personal fic rec this week is _In Your Room_ by LayAtHomeMom... OMG...I laughed out loud, cheered, swooned, and fell in love. One of the best Tanyas I've ever read, and Bella has the best inner musings! And Edward will destroy your panties in the blink of an eye. Check it out!**

**If you missed the pictures for this chapter, you can check them out on my blog or Jenny's site. See our profile for links!**

**We'll see you Wednesday for the teaser (Let us know if you need it via PM! If we've messaged you before, we already have you on the list!) and again next Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N #1: Wait! What is this? An update?! *nods* Deb & I talked it over and decided the story is dragging out WAYYYYY too long for us. We're so excited about the second half of it (because yes, we're at the mid-way point, folks... 34 chapters total, including the epilogue) that we can't do once a week posts anymore. So from here on out, Wednesday's teasers will become a second _IP_ post day! Yay! I'll let you get to it. ;) See Deb at the bottom! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 17**

**Bella POV**

"Settle down, baby," Edward said in a soothing voice as he placed his hand over mine on the counter.

Restless as I waited for it to be time to go to our first meeting with the D.A., I'd started cleaning the kitchen after breakfast – which had only been cereal, so there hadn't been much to begin with. My nerves were shot, making me see things that weren't there, apparently, since the spot I'd been scrubbing at I realized now was only an actual natural spot in the granite.

"I can't," I huffed, feeling my chest tighten. "It all starts today, and I can't help but worry – for Alice, myself, and you. I can't... Edward, I can't let anything happen to you. You have to—"

"Hush," he ordered softly, pulling me around until I was pressed against him. "We have all the best people around us, Bella. Remember that, okay?"

I nodded, finally breathing in his scent and letting it calm me.

"Good girl." He tightened his arms and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Now come with me, okay? We need to get you into the vest. Iverson will be here anytime to take us downstairs."

Clinging to him for another minute, I finally released him and turned to move over to the table, where my Kevlar vest, baseball cap, and sunglasses were sitting.

We had talked about what we'd need to wear while in the apartment building but not in our apartment. Not exactly wanting to advertise that we were hiding, lest someone try to figure out why, we'd foregone the hoodies – especially since it was still summer. Instead, Alice and I would both wear a thin T-shirt under the vest to keep it from rubbing uncomfortably, and then over it, we'd wear a regular T-shirt we'd borrow from the guys. You could still see the outline of the vest if you looked long and hard enough, but we didn't plan to be around anyone who wasn't a marshal or military long enough for it to matter.

Tugging off the Batman T-shirt Edward had loaned me for the day, I grabbed the vest and pulled it on, allowing him to fasten me in. Once the vest was snug, I pulled the T-shirt back on, then slid the cap on my head. Edward helped tug my ponytail through the hole in the back, and then he wrapped his arms around me, leaning down.

"I'll keep you safe, Bella," he swore, his eyes dark.

I knew he didn't like to make promises he wasn't sure he could keep, and he sounded so sure when he said it, I felt much more calm.

I moved to my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips, sighing against him when the sharp three knocks followed by two slower ones came from the front door.

"That's Iverson," Edward said, stepping back. "Stay here until we call for you," he ordered, and then he passed Alice as she joined me in the dining room.

I smiled at my sister, projecting more calm into it than I was feeling, "You ready for this?"

She frowned, shrugging. "Not really, but I don't have much choice, I guess."

"We'll be fine," I told her, trying to sound reassuring. "The guys'll keep us safe."

She started to respond, but Edward's, "Come on, ladies. Let's get this over with so we can get back here and relax," from the front entry kept her quiet.

Grasping my hand quickly, she let me lead her to the guys, who were standing there with Tim Iverson.

It was the first time I'd seen him in something totally casual. I hadn't paid a lot of attention to him before, but now that I was grasping at things to take my mind off where we were heading, I found myself realizing how good-looking he was. He reminded me a lot of Channing Tatum in _G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra_, dressed in a pair of jeans, black, long-sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves pushed up, and the short, military-style haircut. It certainly didn't hurt when he smiled and it lit up his whole face.

"Good morning, ladies," he said. "Ready to do this?"

"Morning," Alice murmured, dropping my hand and taking a tiny step closer to Jasper.

"Morning," I echoed. "Ready as we'll ever be, I suppose."

"We're heading two floors down. We'll take the stairs, and I'll go slightly ahead of you to clear it first, all right?"

Alice and I nodded.

"Sounds good," I said.

We were quiet as he went out first, followed by Jasper, then Alice and me, leaving Edward at our backs. The short trip down the stairs to the tenth floor took no time at all, and when we stepped out of the stairwell, I saw a door just down the hall with a man standing in front of it. I felt my breath catch, but relaxed when Tim and Jasper nodded once to him before moving to the door.

Tim knocked three times and then opened the door. "I'll be out here when you're ready," he said, stepping out of the way.

Edward ushered us in with a hand on our lower backs, and then he shut the door behind us. "Stay with me while Jasper checks out the apartment," he said quietly.

"Why does he need—"

"Just protocol," Edward explained when he interrupted my question of why Jasper had to check out a guarded apartment.

I nodded and waited until Jasper walked back down the hall.

"All clear," he said. "They're in the kitchen."

When we stepped into the large kitchen with the large kitchen table at one end, three people stood and smiled.

"Angela!" Alice called, beaming. "What are you doing here?"

Angela came over and hugged first Alice, then me, and said, "I'm your personal shopper – your clothing fairy, if you will."

"Ohh," I said, the light bulb clicking on over my head. "You're the reason we were told not to worry about it."

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Well, thanks."

Looking at Edward, she said, "I'll be in the bedroom. Just send 'em back when they're ready."

He nodded, giving her a small smile before she turned and left the kitchen.

The other two people came forward then. I recognized the District Attorney from our previous meetings. Mr. Banner was in his early fifties, tall, with a head full of dark hair that was graying at the temple. He reminded me of a slightly younger Gabriel Byrne. With him was a woman I hadn't met yet. She was dark-skinned – I was guessing Native American – and slender, maybe two inches taller than my own height. Her hair was dark, pulled up into a knot at the back of her head, and when she smiled, it was easy to ignore the long scar stretching down one side of her face.

"Marie. Mary," Mr. Banner said, reaching out to shake our hands. "It's good to see you ladies. This is Assistant District Attorney Emily Young. She'll be sitting beside me at trial."

"Good to meet you both," she said, smiling. "I wish it were under better circumstances."

I chuckled wryly. "As do we."

"Have a seat, ladies," Mr. Banner said, motioning to the table. "I'll start by speaking to both of you, and then we'll speak individually, as well."

Edward and Jasper hung back as Alice and I took seats at the table, pulling off our hats.

Once we were seated, the D.A. said, "The purpose of today's meeting is two-fold. One, to talk about when you will be called to testify. The trial officially starts on Monday the sixth. I don't anticipate needing either of you on the stand for a couple of days. Marie, you'll be up first, most likely on Wednesday, the eighth. Mary, you'll be up right after your sister. I can't say for certain how long that will take, but my best guess is no longer than a day on the stand for both of you."

"A whole day?" Alice asked, looking sick to her stomach. I reached over to take her hand, squeezing gently.

Mr. Banner nodded. "We'll go over specific questions over the next two days, but with breaks and lunch, we're probably looking at five to six hours on the stand."

"Okay," she squeaked, taking a deep breath and letting it out quietly.

"I've been told you were informed about only one of you being allowed in the courtroom at a time. Is that correct?" At our nods, he said, "As per orders from the U.S. Marshal Service, you will be allowed a guard with you, and there will be others in the courtroom, as well. You'll be perfectly safe.

"Now, what I'd like to do is speak to each of you alone and go over what you saw one more time. I want to make sure we're on the same page, let you go over it once here before you have to get on the stand and speak about it. Mary, if you would go back to Detective Cheney, she'll work with you on your clothing options for the trial while I speak to Marie."

Mary's hand shook as she squeezed mine and then she stood, moving down the hall with Jasper silently following her.

Mr. Banner waited a moment, and then he pulled out a yellow legal pad and pen. "All right, Marie. Start from the beginning, okay? Tell me everything you can remember, big or small."

I spoke with little emotion as I went over the story again for the first time in months, starting with my sister and me going to the bar to blow off steam after a long week of work.

Mr. Banner interrupted only once, to confirm the details about the alarm. "The alarm was usually on, correct?"

Nodding, I said, "Yes, I don't recall ever seeing it off except during the day."

He wrote something on the pad and then nodded. "Go on."

I told them about sneaking in so Eleazar didn't see me, trying to avoid getting roped into working over the weekend, and then hiding when we heard the gunshots. I had to swallow back tears and bile as I told them about finding Eleazar's body and how I'd known he was dead even without feeling for a pulse.

Mr. Banner asked a few more questions about my old job and boss in general, and then he set his pen down. "Great, Marie. I think that's all I need for now. Tomorrow, I'll meet with you to go over the questions I'll ask at trial and what questions I think the defense will ask, just so you're as prepared as you can be, all right?"

I nodded silently and then stood.

"Send Mary back now, please," he said, turning away and pushing the notepad to Ms. Young.

Edward guided me down the hall, knocking softly on the bedroom door as Jasper joined us from wherever he'd been while Edward and I had been in the kitchen.

"They're ready for her," Edward said when Angela opened the door.

"Great. She's just putting her T-shirt back on. She'll be right out."

As soon as Alice came out, Edward ushered me into the bedroom and stepped in behind me, letting Jasper lead my sister back out to the kitchen.

"I won't stay," Edward said. "I just wanted to say hello."

He and Angela hugged.

"It's good to see you," she said. "Glad to see you guys are keeping these ladies safe."

"Of course," he scoffed, winking at me. "You expected less?"

She laughed softly and shook her head. "Ben said hello. He's keeping an eye on Riley at the station."

Raising an eyebrow, Edward said, "Oh? Problems?"

"No," she said, although even to me, she didn't sound confident. "Not problems, per se... More like just fidgety and antsy the last few days, so we're being diligent about it."

Edward nodded. "Gotcha." Looking at me, he asked, "You'll be okay in here with Angela?"

I smiled, although I was sure it came out half-grimace. "I'll be fine, thanks."

After a moment, he said, "Okay, then. I'll be in the living room."

Once he was gone and the door closed behind him, Angela raised an eyebrow. "You, too, huh?" she asked, smiling. "Your sister and Jasper have clearly gotten close. It's good to see Edward like that."

"L-Like what?" I asked, biting my lower lip so I didn't blurt anything out.

"Happy, even in the midst of all this," Angela said, waving her hand. "I could see it in his eyes when he looked at you, hear it in his voice when he asked if you'd be okay."

I started to protest, knowing our relationship couldn't come out, but she hushed me with a shake of her head.

"Don't worry, Marie. I won't say anything." She smiled. "I've known him a long time, so I can read him better than almost anyone. No one else would have noticed."

I finally nodded. "Thanks."

She took my cap from my hands and tossed it to the bed. "Let's get you out of that vest. I know how hot and uncomfortable – not to mention claustrophobic – that Kevlar can make you."

As we worked at undoing the straps, she explained that she'd brought over a handful of pant suits, some skirts, and several blouses that I could mix and match to make about ten different outfits, just in case.

"I think the clothes should fit okay. I saw your sizes when I helped pack up your things at the hotel before. I also brought shoes, although I guessed on sizes for those. If I need to, I can exchange those and get them to you this week."

I spent the next twenty minutes trying on the different clothes, which Angela had been right on the money about. Even the shoes fit perfectly.

"Thank you for doing this," I said as I pulled my undershirt back on over my bra before picking up the dreaded vest to strap myself back into it.

Angela smiled. "Not a problem, Marie, really. Honestly, Al Chambers called and asked that I do it. Apparently Edward was quite emphatic that he could trust us. So the Marshal's Service paid for them. I just got to shop and deliver," she said with a wink.

There was a knock on the door as I was pulling my sneakers back on, and Edward said, "They're finished if you guys are."

Angela opened the door and nodded. "She's good to go."

I looked up as he stepped into the room and smiled.

"Thanks, Angela."

"No problem. Mary's shoes are a little bit big, but she's going to stuff the toes with tissues, so she'll be fine. That was the only issue. If you guys need anything else at all, give me a call."

"Thanks," I said as Edward nodded and moved me gently out of the room with a hand on my lower back.

Before we reached the kitchen, he murmured low, "Hanging in there?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay – or I will be as soon as we get back upstairs."

"Okay. Let's grab your sister and Jasper and head out, then."

Feeling rather numb, I said goodbye to Mr. Banner and Ms. Young, allowing Edward to shepherd me from the apartment. I was aware of Tim leading the way, the rest of us following behind him like we'd done on the way downstairs. But my head was full of cotton and my stomach full of butterflies. Things were feeling so much more real now that the trial was less than a week away. And I was worried about Angela knowing about our relationship. She was Edward's friend, so I knew she wouldn't tell anyone, but if she'd been able to spot it, would someone else be able to as well?

"This is where I leave you," Tim said, smiling down at us. "I'll be back tomorrow, same time."

"Great, man. Thanks," Edward said before turning away and gently pushing me into the apartment.

"I'm gonna go..." I motioned to my clothes. I needed the vest off before I started hyperventilating from all the emotions that were slowly overtaking my sanity.

Edward followed me into the bedroom we were sharing, and when I yanked the top T-shirt off over my head, he was there to help undo the Velcro, allowing me to shrug out of the vest.

Face in my hands, I dropped to the edge of the bed and breathed deeply.

"Talk to me, Bella," Edward said, sitting down beside me. He pried my hands away from my face and made me look at him. "Did something happen with Angela?"

I shook my head. "Just kind of losing all the adrenaline I had running through my system, so it's hard to think straight." I shivered, feeling chilled in my light T-shirt after having the vest on.

He nodded, wrapping an arm around me and rubbing my arm to warm me up.

"She knows, by the way," I whispered, afraid that he would be upset.

Instead of being shocked or angry, Edward laughed, shaking his head. "I thought she might. The look she gave me before we left was pretty telling."

"You're not worried?"

He shook his head again. "Nah. She and Ben are good people. They won't say anything, Bella, I swear it."

"No, no!" I rushed to assure him. "I wasn't worried about that. I know if they're friends with you, they wouldn't do that. I was just worried about anyone else noticing."

"It'll be fine, baby. Trust me."

"I do," I promised with a nod.

"Good." He smiled and pressed a kiss to my temple. "Get dressed and then let's get some lunch. I think we need a movie marathon this afternoon."

I agreed and smiled as I said, "Sounds perfect."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I was pretty fucking sure that Bella had no idea how damned sexy she was. I felt like a true shit for noticing it through all that was going on, but I honestly couldn't help it. As I helped her into the Kevlar vest for her private meeting with the D.A., I had to grit my teeth with just how good she looked in my clothes. I'd thought my USMS shirt had looked the best on her when she wore it to bed, which was just about all the time now, but holy fuck, if my old black Batman tee hadn't just about driven me mad.

Once we were back in the apartment and had spent the rest of the day watching movies, I'd made her put it back on before bed. That, and nothing else. Then, I'd fucked her hard against our bedroom door, just to watch her fall apart and to take away the worry that seemed to hover around her like a heavy cloud. She'd laughed at my reaction but taken it all in stride, wearing a silly-sweet smile when she finally fell asleep in my arms, still in my shirt.

Today, it was my Nike T-shirt – a simple navy blue with a bright white swoosh on the left. It was much tamer, much safer, but still looked fuck-hot on her. For a split second, I wondered if they made Batman lingerie, and not that silly shit for kids.

I groaned, mentally chastising my brain for waking up my dick. Now, he was completely on-board for anything and everything Bella was willing to give him. He was turning into her personal sex-slave. Not that I could blame him. Ever.

"Edward?" she whispered, running her fingers along my clenched jaw as I finished with the straps of the vest. "Are you upset about something?"

I huffed a laugh, shaking my head. "No, Bella. Just worried for you." It was an innocent lie, but if she knew what I was really thinking, we'd be late for the meeting with no acceptable excuse as to why. "This will be hard, but not as hard as next week."

She nodded, taking my Nike shirt and pulling it over her head. I was helping her with her hat, making sure her hair came through the hole in the back, when Tim's knock echoed through the apartment.

I cupped her face, kissing her quickly but not as thoroughly as I would've liked. "You can do this. Ready?"

She nodded, taking a deep breath, and fidgeted with the straps of the vest before leaving our room to walk toward the front door, where Jasper had just called out that it was clear. Iverson was waiting patiently out in the hallway. He smiled kindly, nodding to me once.

"Just you today?"

Bella grimaced. "Yeah, just me."

We took the stairs like the day before, with Tim leading and me at the rear. When we got to the apartment two floors down, Tim knocked three times before opening the door.

I placed a heavy hand on Bella's shoulder. "Stay here with him, and I'll clear the apartment, okay?"

Bella swallowed nervously but nodded.

The D.A. and his assistant didn't even bother to greet me when I breezed through the whole place, checking bathrooms, bedrooms, and closets.

Meeting Tim's gaze through the open door, I said, "We're clear."

"I'll be here," he stated, ushering Bella in and closing the door behind her.

"Good morning, Marie," Mr. Banner greeted her, guiding her to the table where files, books, and briefcases were scattered everywhere. "Have a seat and we'll get started."

I made myself invisible, but stayed close enough that I could keep my eyes on not only Bella, but the rest of the apartment. Technically, I was to be a part of the background. Had this been any other witness, I probably wouldn't have paid as close attention as I was about to. But this wasn't just any other witness.

The Assistant D.A., Ms. Young, glanced my way, her eyes raking from my head to my feet. I kept my face completely void of any emotion, trying my damnedest not to roll my eyes. I was used to the look, but I neither wanted it, nor wanted to encourage it. When she smiled, I gave her nothing, which made her focus back on Bella.

"Okay, Marie," Mr. Banner started, slapping a legal pad down in front of him. The damn thing was filled with black scrawling handwriting. "Here's what we're gonna do today. I want to go through what I'm going to ask you in court next week. Then, I want to go over what the defense is most likely going to ask you."

He was easy on her for the most part, but it was hard watching Bella relive the night of her boss's murder over and over. Each time she told it, it came out sounding flat, emotionless but honest. They went through the details of her relationship with Eleazar Denali, whether she'd ever seen the defendants in her office before, and finally, they spoke about the bar, Aria.

Banner asked her how much she'd had to drink, who she'd spoken to, and what time they'd left. He then walked her through leaving, walking to her office, the details about the alarms, why she didn't want her boss to see her, and exactly what she'd heard, seen, and done while inside that building.

"Good, good," Banner praised her once she was through recounting it all. "You're doing great."

Ms. Young slid another legal pad over to Banner but gave Bella a small smile. "Marie, before we go through the questions that the defense might ask of you, we need to go over who _they_ are calling to the stand to try to discredit you. Okay?"

Bella nodded and fidgeted nervously, gazing down at her hands on top of the table. It was all I could do not to go to her, tell her that she was kicking this shit's ass, but I couldn't. I wanted to catch her eye, but from where I was standing, it wasn't possible.

Banner nodded, dragging the pad over. "The fact that you'd been drinking is probably what they'll focus on."

"I wasn't drunk," Bella sneered. "I'd had a couple of beers and a shot, but by the time I walked to my office, I was sober."

"We know that, Marie," Ms. Young soothed. "But it's the only thing going for them at this point. They have the bartender on their list of witnesses, along with a Jacob Black."

Bella groaned, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands.

There was a part of me that wanted to beat this Jacob Black senseless for ever having touched her. It was irrational and stupid and juvenile, but it was there. I clenched my fists, which were locked behind my back, practically shaking with a thick, feral jealousy that I hadn't felt in years. I'd felt it with Maggie and Randy, but not since then. I'd never allowed it, never allowed anyone to bring out that side of me, but this...this was harsher, almost violent. Gritting my teeth, I focused on Bella, whose cheeks were pink with anger and most likely embarrassment. But what brought me back to reality and calmed my temper was the list of questions that Banner was going over.

"Marie, they're going to want to knock you off your game, so to speak," Banner said softly, tilting his head at her. "You can't let them. Just answer them as calmly and honestly as you can, and I'll do my best to protect you by objecting to anything irrelevant. Okay?"

"Okay," Bella whispered, biting on her lip.

Ms. Young nodded. "Good. Let's see how you do. Now, did Jacob Black give you anything other than alcohol?"

"No. I don't do drugs."

"Could he have put something in your drink?"

"No. I never put my drink down anywhere."

I wanted to smirk in pride. That was a fucking awesome answer. I'd seen more shit in bars than I liked to talk about, and more than once had I told a bartender to watch a motherfucker.

"Did you know Mr. Black before the night in question?" the assistant asked.

Bella shook her head, shifting in her seat. "No."

"Ms. Brandon, do you make it a habit of having sex with strangers?"

"What?" Bella asked with a squeak to her voice.

My fists clenched so hard behind my back that every knuckle popped.

Banner turned to Ms. Young. "See, I think I'd have to object here. But I'm not so sure that the judge will overrule it." He turned to Bella. "Answer the question."

"Not a _habit_," she spat back at him, "no. It just..._happened_."

My chest hurt at the sound of her tone, and even worse when she looked to me briefly for help and I couldn't do shit about it in that room. She was utterly mortified. I shifted my gaze to the floor, but didn't move otherwise. When Bella had first explained her feelings of guilt back in Connecticut, I'd told her that no one could blame her for getting hers, for doing what every other hot-blooded American did on a fucking Friday night – myself included. The difference was, I wasn't being called out on my behavior in a fucking court of law. And suddenly, I just...hurt for her. I couldn't imagine having to explain my own past, my own encounters with strangers in front of a room full of people.

Banner coached her on her answers, telling her to stay calm, that no one would think less of her, but I could tell that shit was a flat-out lie. Had Bella been a man up on that stand, _then_ no one would think less of him, but she wasn't. She was a beautiful young woman who'd had a damn good career, and she held no long-term relationship. The defense would make her out to be a whore.

They switched gears on her, seeing that she was flustered.

"Marie, did you like your boss?" Ms. Young asked.

Bella shrugged, almost belligerently. "He was my boss. He treated me well, paid me well, and had been willing to take me straight out of college. He trusted me with some pretty big accounts, and I wanted to do well."

"But you avoided him?"

Bella snorted. "He had a bad habit of calling an early end to my weekends. Yeah, I was avoiding him that night. Working six days a week wasn't exactly what I signed up for."

Both lawyers nodded, but it was Banner that spoke. "Excellent."

They spent a little over an hour longer going over everything one more time, coaching her on better ways to answer questions. They told her that her sister's testimony would only strengthen hers and that the two detectives – Ben and Angela – would do even more damage to Volturi's defense. Before they let her go, Banner reminded me that they'd need Mary the next day, the same time. I nodded stiffly to him before knocking on the door to let Tim know we were coming out.

I had to give him credit. One glance at Bella's face, and he left her alone, merely guiding us back up the stairs to the penthouse. I opened the door and let Bella in, but Iverson stopped me.

"She okay?" he asked.

"She will be when this is all over," I told him and then thanked him.

He waved, saying he'd see me tomorrow.

I went inside to see Jasper and Alice looking dumbfounded and Bella nowhere in sight. I sighed, gripping my hair and shaking my head.

"What the hell happened?" Alice whispered, walking to me. "We tried to talk to her, tell her that we ordered Chinese, but she just...walked by."

I nodded. "Jake."

Alice eyes widened. "Oh. Edward, she... Do you want me to talk to her?"

I shook my head. "No. I think me being in the room made it worse."

Jasper grimaced, but nodded. "I'll let you know when the food is here. I have to go downstairs to get it."

Waving a hand, I walked down the hallway to the bedroom that Bella and I shared. I walked in just in time to see her sling the Kevlar vest across the room and at the wall. It smacked hard, rattling a painting that was there. For a second, I thought it would fall, but it only swayed on its nail. Her hat flew next, but stalled out about halfway.

"Go away, Edward," she snapped, not looking at me as she paced like a tiger in a cage.

"No. Can't do it, Bella," I countered, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I told you I wouldn't do that. You said you didn't want me to leave you alone, remember?"

She huffed but shook her head. "Well, if I didn't need a new life before this fucking trial, I'll sure as hell want one once it's over. I make a good witness, but I'm a whore..."

"Bella!" I snapped, hating the derisive tone in which she was talking about herself. "Baby, come here," I said, trying to soften my voice.

She came to stand in front of me, but it wasn't as close as I wanted, so I reached out and pulled her between my legs. Her eyes were fiery yet sad as she focused more on my chest than my face. Taking her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I forced her gaze to mine.

"What did I tell you when you first told me about forgetting your phone and the night with Jake? You were feeling all this fucking needless guilt over something that wasn't your fault."

"That people forgot things all the time and that it didn't matter that I was getting my rocks off with a guy," she muttered, sounding like a child reciting some memorized passage.

I chuckled because she'd practically said it verbatim. "That's right. Whose fault is it?"

"His."

"Who?"

"Volturi," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes, and I fucking hated it.

"That's right," I praised, pulling her closer when a sob erupted from her. "Sweetheart, why are you crying?"

"This... They... They made me feel...dirty," she sputtered, looking away from me.

Grasping either side of her face, I turned her back to me and wiped away the tears that spilled down her cheeks. "I, for one, like it when you're dirty," I crooned, raising an eyebrow at her and chuckling when she did this absolutely adorable sniffle-snort combo thing, but she didn't say anything else. "Bella, no one there will give a complete and utter fuck after this trial is over. In fact, that girl won't even exist anymore. Marie Brandon and all her bar-hopping ways will fade away like a puff of smoke – I'd kill for a smoke, by the way." I grinned at her frown, but kept going. "I know this is hard, but—"

"Necessary, I know," she finished for me, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, true, but I was going to say I can't judge you on any of it," I admitted.

"Really? You looked so pissed down there," she gasped, finally locking gazes with me for real.

I smiled, kissing her lips, and said, "I was really pissed, but not at you. I wanted to go to you, tell you that what people think shouldn't matter in the big picture. But I couldn't. They'd have seen right through me. It was all I could do not to pull you away."

She relaxed infinitesimally in my arms but only nodded. "I thought you'd think differently of me."

I snorted, shaking my head, and wiped away another tear or two. I really fucking hated to see her cry.

Sighing, I trailed my fingers down her beautiful face. "We are _so_ alike," I whispered, my brow wrinkling at the pure truth of that. Sniffing once, I asked, "Do you want to know what _I_ was doing on the night in question?"

Bella's dark eyes snapped to mine, and she licked her lips slowly as her brow wrinkled. I couldn't tell what she was feeling because her face held an expression I didn't recognize. She was quiet for a moment but swallowed before speaking.

"What?"

Laughing humorlessly, I shook my head. "I was spending my night much like you, Bella. I was drunk on Jack Daniels, hanging out in a bar with Jazz, and then...a hotel room."

"With Jazz?" she asked, giggling and squeaking when I gripped her sides.

"No, silly ass," I growled at her, but I could see that she understood. "With a woman," I stated, which quieted us down again.

Bella licked her lips and then smirked. "Was she pretty?"

I fought my smile and won, shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly as my hands traveled over her ass, down her legs, and back. "Eh, I think I've seen better. Was Jake all that?" I asked with a grin.

"No. I _have_ seen better," she said, letting her eyes rake over me.

"See? No blood, no foul," I sang, patting the side of her leg. "Just don't ask me her name," I whispered conspiratorially.

"Oh, damn. It was like that?" she groaned with a shake of her head, rolling her eyes at me. Instead of judging me, she leaned in and sighed contentedly.

"Yeah, me and Mr. Jack Daniels had a long talk," I told her with a chuckle, but sobered up almost immediately. "Look, sweetheart, this'll suck..._bad_, but you just have to blurt it all out, and then you never have to look back. You can leave Marie behind and be Bella. However you want Bella to be."

"Not like that. Not anymore." Her nose wrinkled as she shook her head.

"Good, 'cause I kinda want you all for me," I purred, leaning in to kiss her, interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Ed, Bella. I need to go downstairs," Jasper called from the other side of the door.

Bella looked to me, grabbed my face, and kissed me. "You should go. Get in that cigarette before you shoot some-damn-body."

Grinning, I kissed her back. Hard. It left her a little jelly-like when I pulled away. "You're the best, my Bella."

She rolled her eyes, waving me on, and said, "I told you... Rome wasn't built in a day. And you've done amazing."

I nodded and kissed her forehead. "Thanks." I opened the door to see Jasper standing there. "I'll go," I told him, holding up my cigarettes from my pocket, and he nodded with a smirk. Turning to Bella one last time, I grinned. "Fuck 'em, Bella. Silver lining, remember?" I reminded her, thinking about how she'd liked that Bella Swan didn't have an ex named Mike. I was hoping this would work the same.

She nodded, smiling shyly. "Got it. Fuck 'em."

Jasper and I laughed, both saying, "Thatta girl!" before leaving her in the room.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: They are _very_ similar creatures. LOL And it's already started – the inability to act the way he wants to around others. As you can see, it was killing him not to comfort her in front of the DA and his assistant.**

**Now that we're posting twice a week, this will move along a little quicker. I know that will make you guys very happy. Some of you are worried about the trial, some about maintaining secrecy. Some have even mentioned someone getting hurt, and I think someone remember Rose is due any day now. I need everyone to stop, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. :) There. Now...stay calm, strap in, and hold on.**

**I don't have a fic rec for you this time. I haven't had a chance to read anything. Soon, though. Promise.**

**So...no more teasers. We'll see you again on Sunday. Until then... Mooches. – Deb**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N #1: It's trial time. So exciting! I know you guys are worried. Just hang in there with us, okay? ;) Before you get to the story, I just have to answer one question from the reviews... Iverson and Davies were piloting the plane when the couples were acting like...well, couples. There's no windows, so they can't see back into the cabin, and they can't hear the quiet whispers especially. So try not to worry so much, yeah? ;) All right, enjoy, and see Deb at the bottom! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 18**

**Bella POV**

The morning of the trial, I woke to the sound of Edward's alarm. When my body registered what day it was, I couldn't help but bolt to the bathroom, throwing up what little food was left in my stomach. Edward was there behind me immediately, holding my hair back and handing me a damp washcloth.

"Easy, Bella," he murmured when I tried to stand. "Give it a second to see if you're okay."

I nodded, sinking back to my knees and reaching out to flush the toilet.

After three or four minutes had passed without me getting sick again, he helped me to my feet and guided me to the sink. "Brush your teeth. That'll help get rid of that taste."

As I brushed, my hands shaking, he walked to the shower and turned on the water. When he came back to me, he slowly stripped my T-shirt off.

"I'm going to grab another washcloth from the closet. Do what you need to do and then get in the shower. I'll join you in a minute." Pressing a chaste kiss to my forehead, he left me alone in the bathroom.

Quickly hurrying to take care of Mother Nature, I then stepped into the glass shower enclosure. The steam and heat wrapped around me and warmed me, so by the time Edward stepped in behind me, I wasn't shivering quite like I had been.

"I'm so scared," I admitted as he gathered me in his arms.

Edward tilted my chin up so I was looking at him, being careful to keep my head out of the water cascading down onto my back from the showerhead. "What's scaring you the most?"

I shook my head, shrugging. "I'm not sure. Seeing Volturi, maybe? Getting to the courthouse and back safely? Both?"

I wrapped my arms around him, needing to feel him close.

"We've been over the plan from every angle, baby. Getting you there and back shouldn't be a problem. Santiago and I have both done this before, many times, and Iverson's got damn good instincts. You're going to be as safe as we can possibly make it.

"As for seeing Volturi, you don't even have to look at him once you've made the ID, Bella. You set your attention on Banner – or find me. I'll be right there the whole time."

Nodding against his chest, I murmured an okay and then stepped back into the spray. When I reached for the soap, Edward took it from me. "Let me."

He spent a long time washing every part of me, from head to toe and everywhere in between. It wasn't sexual. It was merely calming and loving, reverent and supportive all at once. Once he'd washed my hair, massaging my scalp and detangling everything with his long fingers, he gently pushed me back into the spray to rinse while he began washing himself. He ignored his rather impressive erection, cleansing himself with efficiency and haste. If it had been any other morning, I'd have delighted in taking care of it for him – with my hand or my mouth – but today, it was all I could do to stand upright.

Once we were both free of suds, I turned off the water while Edward stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He held another one for me as I stepped out and then helped me wrap it around my body, tucking it in between my breasts.

"I'll go get dressed while you do what you need to do in here. Do you want any breakfast?"

Just the thought of food made me feel green, so I quickly shook my head. "Some water would be good, and can you send Alice in?" I needed her to help with my hair and makeup.

"Of course." He kissed me again, his arms tight around me, and then pulled away only to rest his forehead against mine. "We'll get through today, and when we get back here, we'll lock ourselves in our room for the rest of the night if we need to, okay?"

I nodded, watching his long lashes flutter against his cheeks as he stayed still for a moment.

Finally, he pulled away and moved to the bedroom, closing the bathroom door behind him so the warmth wouldn't escape.

Pulling out the hair dryer and everything I needed to fix my hair and makeup, I listened as Edward opened and closed drawers in the bedroom, and then the other bedroom door opened and he walked out to get my sister.

Alice walked in a couple of minutes later with a bottle of water in one hand and a pair of panties and a bra in the other. "I thought you might want these, too," she said with a small smile. "Easier than trying to keep the towel on."

"Definitely," I agreed, taking the clothes from her. "Thanks."

I dropped the towel and quickly pulled on the simple white bra and panties. She handed me the water, and I downed half the bottle before turning on the hair dryer. Alice sat on the closed lid of the toilet, pulling her knees to her chest as she watched me dry my hair. She didn't speak, for which I was grateful. I simply needed her presence, needed her there to help calm my nerves, and she knew it. It was how we'd been since we were kids. Even at our lowest points, just being around one another helped.

When my hair was mostly dry, she stood and moved to the stool that sat underneath the makeup desk built into the bathroom cabinet. Flicking on the brighter lights above that mirror, she then pushed my shoulder gently. "Sit," she said. "I'll finish that."

Alice brushed and poked and prodded, pulling my hair this way and that, finally satisfied once she'd pulled the top half back, securing it with a gold hair clip and smoothing out the bottom half underneath.

Then she turned her attention to my makeup. "We'll keep it simple. Understated. You're not going there to look like you're ready for a night on the town," she said as she applied a light coverage of foundation on my T-zone, followed by powder all over my face. She applied a light shade of eyeshadow and then added my mascara and blush before holding up two shades of lipstick. "Pick one," she said, wiggling one of the tubes back and forth a few times.

I laughed quietly and took the hint, pointing to the moving one. "That one."

"Good call," she said with a wink. "I doubt this will stay on long..."

She was right; I'd end up biting it all off.

"...but you never know. It can't hurt to go out looking your best so you can try to feel the same."

I nodded, reaching for the little black tube, which she let me take and apply myself.

"Know what you're going to wear?" she asked once I finished.

As she followed me into the bedroom, I said, "Yeah, Angela brought a pair of dark pants with a wide, silver-studded belt, an off-white blouse, and a dark pink cardigan that I think will look okay."

Alice nodded, moving to the closet and finding the exact clothes I'd mentioned. I pulled on a pair of knee-high hose – there was no point in wearing full hose with the pants – and then grabbed a thin T-shirt from the drawer and carefully pulled it over my head. Then I grabbed the dreaded Kevlar vest, and Alice helped me strap it tight before I finished dressing. Once I was completely dressed, I slid my feet into some low-heeled pumps and did a three-sixty spin in front of her.

"How's it look?"

She smiled softly. "Perfect. They won't know what hit 'em," she said, carefully pulling me into a hug so she didn't muss up the makeup or hairdo.

There was a knock on the door, and then Edward said, "Baby, it's time to go. You about ready?"

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment, and then answered, "Yeah, I'm ready."

When Edward opened the door, I saw that he was dressed in a black suit, with a white dress shirt and black tie. His jacket was unbuttoned, his USMS shield clearly visible on his belt. I could see the bulk of his own vest under his shirt, but it did nothing to detract from how sexy he was in the suit.

"You look great," he said when he noticed me fiddling with the hem of my sweater. "Let's go, B. Iverson's here to escort us downstairs."

Alice and Jasper walked us to the door, and then she gave me one last hug.

"Be safe," she whispered before releasing me.

I smiled, trying to project more calm and confidence than I felt. "You, too."

Edward opened the door and ushered me out. Tim was waiting in the hall, dressed similarly to Edward, although his suit was navy blue and he didn't have a badge on his belt.

"Morning," he said. "You look great, Marie."

"Thanks."

We were quiet as Tim led us to the elevator and then out through the side door of the lobby to the garage. When we walked out, a white cargo van, not a delivery truck like I'd been expecting, with a crazy logo – a dancing loaf of bread and a cupcake with eyes – and the name Simon's Bake Shop on the side was parked right by the door. The side door slid open and Damon Santiago was there, face serious.

"Right on time," he said, stepping back. "Sorry about the lack of seats back here. I did add a couple of clean crates for us to sit on."

"No worries," Edward said as he climbed in and held out his hand.

I took the help and climbed carefully inside, not wanting to get my clothes dirty. Tim closed the back door of the van before getting into the passenger seat beside a man I recognized as another marshal named Shawn Nolan, who was driving. Once everyone was settled, Shawn took off, heading out into the sunshine.

"We'll go to the service entrance of the courthouse," Santiago said a few minutes later, startling me out of my artificial calm brought on by the quiet inside the van.

Edward nodded. "Any idea how far from that door to the room we'll be waiting in?"

"I walked it a few days ago," Santiago explained. "From that door, we'll go down a short hallway, then wind through several more before turning right to take us to the main hallway. The room we'll end up in is right across from where we'll enter that main hallway, so not far.

"Nolan will stay with the van and move to the entrance we'll take to get out of the building. Iverson will be standing guard just inside that door, and I'll stay with the two of you," he finished.

Edward nodded again. "Sounds good."

"Two minutes out," Shawn called back, speeding up after the light turned green.

My stomach clenched, and I wished with everything in me that I could reach over and grab Edward's hand. I needed the strength I always felt from his touch. But for now, I couldn't have that, so I clenched my hands into fists and tried to swallow back my nerves.

When the van finally pulled to a stop, Shawn and Tim climbed out of the front seats.

"Stay behind Santiago and right in front of me," Edward said, catching my eye and holding my gaze for a moment until I nodded. "Ready?"

When I nodded again, he banged once on the door, which slid open.

Tim was there, turning back around to face away from the van after having opened the door for Edward. I could see Shawn standing near the front of the vehicle, scanning the area as first Santiago and then Edward climbed out of the van.

Edward held a hand out. "Now or never," he teased as I hesitated.

"Is never an option?" I quipped, knowing of course it wasn't, but unable not to let out some of the tension with a joke.

His gaze was tender for a moment before his features smoothed out, and then he helped me step from the van.

Tim led the way, going through the door first. Santiago was next, and then I stepped through with Edward behind me.

I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting, but the calm quiet of the hallway we entered wasn't it. Maybe a lot more people, a lot more noise. But there was no one there, and what noise we did hear was muted, like they were far away or around multiple corners.

Tim stopped just inside the door. "This is where I leave you." He smiled. "Kick ass," he told me with a wink before disappearing silently back out the door.

"Let's go," Edward ordered, ushering me forward with a hand on the small of my back.

With each corner we turned, the noise got slightly louder. It was still quiet when we reached the main hallway – there were trials going on behind some of the closed doors, after all – but now I could see the activity and hear everything that went along with that. People talking in hushed tones, shoes clacking on the tile floor as people rushed here and there or paced restlessly, papers rustling. I didn't see anyone I recognized, for which I was beyond thankful.

"Here we are," Santiago said, unlocking the door to a room. "I'm the only one with a key." He stepped in and made a quick visual sweep before stepping aside and letting us enter. "I'll be right outside the door," he told us, giving me a small smile before pulling the door closed behind him.

"C-Can I...?" I pointed at my chest, silently asking if we could remove my vest, which felt like it was beginning to suffocate me.

Edward thought about it for a moment and then finally nodded. Once I had my sweater and shirt off, he helped unstrap me from the Kevlar, setting it down while I put back on my shirt and cardigan.

"Better?" he asked, slipping a hand under my hair and cupping the back of my neck.

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

He guided me down into one of the chairs around the small table. "Relax, baby," he uttered quietly so no one outside the room would hear. "We should have a few minutes." He took the seat beside me, pulling over one of the legal pads and a paper. "Tic-Tac-Toe?"

Chuckling, I said, "Bring it."

For the next few minutes, we filled in the front and back of two sheets of paper with games like that. I never forgot where we were or why we were there, but it did allow me to relax a little bit, at least.

Then we heard quiet voices just outside the door, and Santiago knocked once and said, "Coming in."

Edward stood and threw away our papers as Assistant D.A. Emily Young walked in, looking professional and poised in black-skirted suit with a deep brown leather briefcase.

"Good morning, Marie," she said, smiling. "I'm just here to tell you everything is running on schedule, so you should be called in to testify within the hour. Do you have any questions for me? Now's the time to ask."

I thought for a moment and then shook my head. "No, no questions."

"All right. Then I'll be back to get you when it's time for you to take the stand, okay?"

When I nodded, she smiled again and then left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

"You're doing great, sweetheart," Edward murmured when I collapsed back against the seat.

I felt sick to my stomach again, and my lip was beginning to hurt from where I'd chewed off most of the top layer of skin.

Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. I needed to move. Trying to practice some of the deep breathing we did during yoga, I paced. Edward stayed standing by the door, watching me, but I paid him little attention as I focused on putting one foot in front of the other and controlling my breaths.

Edward's soft, "Baby, come here," startled me out of my routine.

I moved to him without question, and he once again slid his hand to the back of my neck, squeezing and rubbing gently, which calmed me more than any Valium in the world could have done at that moment.

He turned slightly and whispered, "You're gonna kick their fucking asses, sweetheart. Relax for me, yeah?"

Taking a deep breath, I nodded, closing my eyes and trying to find my center...whatever would allow me to let go of some of the nervous agitation I was feeling. When I felt as calm as I could possibly be, I finally answered, "Yeah."

"Thatta girl." His voice was full of pride and love as his hand rubbed my neck one last time before he let me go.

He'd succeeded in relaxing me enough that when someone knocked on the door, it startled me so much, I gasped and nearly tripped over my own two feet scrambling away.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward's POV**

The back hallways of the courthouse were a beehive of activity that did nothing to calm my nerves. I didn't trust a single motherfucker in there except for Ben, who I knew was roaming around somewhere, although I hadn't seen him. We were down a maze of halls close to the judge's chambers, but they weren't my concern. My biggest concern was slowly pacing back and forth in front of a row of chairs. I wanted to grab her, kiss her, tell her she could do this, but instead, I held my position at the door. Santiago was just on the other side in the busy hallway.

Bella looked beautiful, wearing gray and pink, and it fit her like a glove once we'd removed the Kevlar vest. But her face was pale, despite the makeup she was wearing. Her hands shook, her teeth were going to make that bottom lip of hers bleed, and her eyes were almost wild.

"Baby, come here," I whispered, not giving the video camera in the upper corner of the room any notice. When Bella walked to me, I slipped my hand into her hair at the back of her neck and rubbed, smiling as she settled down just a bit. Turning away from the camera, I faced her. "You're gonna kick their fucking asses, sweetheart. Relax for me, yeah?"

She took a deep breath, nodded, and tried to shake the nerves off. "Yeah," she finally murmured back.

"Thatta girl," I praised her, giving her neck one more squeeze before letting her go, though I was hating it.

A soft knock on the door made Bella practically jump out of her skin, but Santiago cracked it open to show Emily Young standing there next to him.

"Marie, it's time," she said, and Bella nodded, swallowing nervously.

Santiago turned to me. "I'll take the back of the courtroom at the door. You stay with her. They'll bring her in the side door."

"Got it," I murmured, guiding Bella out into the hallway.

Emily and Bella led the way, with Santiago and me right behind them. He deviated to the right at the first corridor, but we continued on to the side door of the courtroom, where Emily stopped. It took most of my concentration to keep my face blank as Emily gently told Bella that she could do this, that they'd take a break if things got too hard, and that she should stay calm, no matter what the defense's lawyer said or asked.

The judge's own security stood sentry in front of us. The name on his chest stated Shepherd. He was a tall African-American man, somewhere in his mid-twenties, and he was the one who finally opened the door. Bella gave me one last terrified glance before she was led into the courtroom full of people. Shepherd and I stood in front of the side door – the same door I assumed the judge had used to enter the courtroom.

The large room wasn't exactly like it was on TV. There were similarities – dark wood, the tall judge's bench, two tables for the prosecution and defense, and the sectioned-off set of twelve chairs where ordinary citizens sat trying to make sense of everything that everyone threw at them. What was different were the amount of people at the front. The court court clerk and the law clerk – the assistant to the judge – both sat on a one-step-up platform to the right of the judge, with the court reporter on the main floor level in front of them. Aside from the judge's security, there were also two more bailiffs to either side of the courtroom.

The court clerk stood and asked Bella solemnly, "Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give is true?"

"I do," Bella said, taking a seat beside the judge as the court clerk resumed sitting as well.

Banner moved to the podium in the middle of the aisle as Emily took her seat at the prosecution table. I gave a slow gaze around the room, noting that Santiago was slipping in silently at the back of the room. He stood at attention, his arms behind his back. My eyes continued to glance over the room as Banner started with Bella like he had in their meeting. I listened as she answered him confidently, but I continued to spy members of the press, a few cops from the NYPD, and finally, the fucking reason we were all here – Caius Volturi.

My teeth clenched as I watched his pompous ass try to intimidate Bella with just a look, which she wasn't catching due to her attention being on Banner. Volturi seemed smaller sitting in that courtroom than what we'd all probably built up in our minds. And in all reality, he was just a short, slightly overweight old man who wasn't worth any bit of all this trouble. Pushing mid- to late fifties, Caius had graying hair and a nose that clearly stated he drank way too much. His suit was flawless, expensive, and most likely Armani, tailored to fit him. His hands looked spotted and aged, and I internally rolled my eyes at the cliché pinky rings adorning each hand. The fact that he and Felix were being tried together made him look all the more confident. If their trials had been separated, he'd have had no clue what Felix said in his testimony.

Felix was a different story. He looked calm, almost passive, as he sat there, but sweat glistened on his upper lip and brow.

Bella told her story without wavering, taking way longer than I expected, but she was on the stand for close to two hours. She answered Banner like he and Emily had coached her, pausing only when the defense objected, but really, there was nothing to object to – she merely was stating what she'd seen.

"The men you saw that night, Marie. are they in the courtroom today?" Banner asked, and I turned my attention to Bella.

She nodded at the same time she said, "Yes."

"Would you please point them out for the court?" Banner instructed. When Bella pointed over to the end of the defense table, Banner gave her a surreptitious wink before facing the courtroom. "Let the record show the witness identified the defendants."

My hands balled up into fists behind my back when Caius and Felix sneered at Bella from their seats – something I noticed even the jurors picked up on. The hate, the silent threat, and the looks between Felix and Caius should've been deemed scary for her, considering all the shit she'd been through, but with a glance Bella's way, I wanted to smile. My girl was stubborn, independent, and so smart. Their angry faces didn't threaten or scare her – they pissed her the fuck off.

Bella shot a quick look my way, and even though my face had to remain completely blank in front of all those people, I couldn't help but give her a tiny nod. I could almost see her thoughts. She was about to unleash it all. Her beautiful face screamed the words, "Fuck 'em."

I wanted to kiss the shit out of her right there.

"Defense, cross?" Judge Afton directed.

The lead defense attorney – Goldman – oozed greed and distrust and unethical values, especially considering who his clients were. With his slicked-back hair and his cold gray eyes, he smiled, trying to look kind, but really, he came across as a predator. We were closing in on midday, and I'd hoped they'd break for lunch before the defense got to her, but it looked like they were going to dive on in.

I recognized the look on Bella's face from when we'd first arrived in Forks. I'd been an ass, and she'd looked at me with fire and what I'd thought was hate, but now I knew it was determination. That's how she was bracing herself for Goldman. I wanted to feel sorry for the bastard, but I couldn't.

Bella handled him brilliantly. Not a single question rattled her, even when her sexual activities came into the picture – which Banner objected to. She simply answered Goldman without batting an eye. And I could tell that she'd won the jury over completely. She was articulate and smart, a career-oriented woman – or she was at the time of the murder – and she didn't apologize for drinking, blowing off steam, or for her activities with Jake. As far as she was concerned, she'd earned it all, and her tone was basically saying, "So what?" And fuck me, she was sexy as she answered every question about how much she'd had to drink, how far the walk was from the bar to her office, and was she absolutely sure the defendants were the men she'd seen.

Bella told that shit like she was leaving it all behind – just like I'd told her to – and by the time Goldman was through asking questions, she looked self-satisfied but exhausted. Her attitude never wavered, though, even after a small break for lunch. Not once.

I was absolutely fucking certain Bella Swan left Marie Brandon in that courtroom at the end of the damn day.

The judge called an early end to the day, stating that they'd pick right back up the next day. Santiago met us in the same room we'd waited in, only this time, Banner and Ms. Young were with him.

"That was perfect, Marie," Banner praised her, wearing a smile as he patted her shoulder. "You must do better under pressure."

"No," Bella sighed, shaking her head a little. "Caius tried to intimidate me, and I just realized...this is all his fault."

Again, the urge to kiss her stupid washed over me, and I had to grip my hair instead of Bella. As scared as she'd stayed throughout Long Island, Connecticut and, finally, Forks, she'd listened. She'd thrown away the guilt she assumed rested on her shoulders and set it firmly on the true guilty party.

"We should get her out of here," I told Santiago, grabbing the Kevlar vest off the chair.

"I'll arrange for a pick up at the side exit," he stated, exiting the room.

As I helped Bella into her vest, her eyes locked with mine, but we said nothing because Banner was rambling on and on beside her.

"I don't think we'll need to call you back for a redirect, Marie. Your sister will take the stand tomorrow, followed by the detectives that were called to the scene. There are...a few more witnesses after that," he hedged, "not to mention the medical examiner. Then we'll rest and turn it over to the defense. They won't put Volturi on the stand. It'll never happen—" Banner stopped himself, shaking his head. "In other words, don't leave town just yet, just in case we need you back up there, okay?"

"All right," Bella sighed, but her eyes were on me again. Several emotions crossed that beautiful face – weariness, nerves, a touch of want, but the one that was most prominent was the need for approval.

When Emily and Banner lost themselves in conversation, I whispered, "Told you you'd kick ass."

Bella smirked as I tightened the Velcro on the vest at the same time Santiago popped his head in to give me a nod. "Thanks, Edward," she whispered.

"Mmhm," I hummed, fighting my smile and helping her back into her sweater. "Ready?"

She nodded, waved goodbye to Emily and Banner, and let me guide her out into the hallway. Santiago led us toward a different exit than the one in which we'd been dropped off. A left turn, then a right, and finally another right put us at the end of a long hall, but I could see the exit sign ahead. I could also see Ben, who wasn't alone. Riley – the detective from Ben's department – had his back facing us and was talking to Ben, who smiled nervously and apologetically at Bella and then me.

It was too late to change exit strategies because Iverson was already waiting for us at the door. Ben wouldn't have known where we were leaving or he would've never, ever brought that fucker anywhere near us, I knew that much, but it was too damn late. I gave him a quick shake of my head not to say a word to us.

"Don't stop," I whispered to Bella when I saw her eyes light up at the sight of my old friend. "Not now. Ignore him."

Santiago heard me and shot me a worried glance, but he followed my lead. I guided us past the two cops, straight to Iverson, and out the door, the hair on the back of my neck prickling like a motherfucker. The bakery van was idling, and we dove straight inside.

"Drive. And watch your fucking six," I told Nolan once the door slammed shut. "And watch it close."

"Sir," he replied, putting the van into gear.

"The guy with Ben?" Bella asked, looking nervous.

I nodded, turning to Iverson and Santiago. "The two men we passed in the hall? They're NYPD. The smaller guy is trustworthy. The other? Not so fucking much." I turned to Bella. "I want you down and at the ready. Got me? If we have to bail out of this van, you need to listen to every single word I tell you."

Bella nodded vehemently. "Okay," she whispered back, settling in on the crate she'd sat on when we'd driven in.

Iverson stepped over boxes and racks, taking a position at the back window. His instincts were good – really fucking good – so I trusted him to keep an eye out. Nolan up front was taking a twisted route to not only avoid traffic, but to just keep moving.

"We got a tail," Tim warned, giving me a quick glance. "Four cars back – almost a block back, really. A dark SUV, maybe three or four inside."

"Fuck!" I snapped, gripping my hair and trying to think. It wasn't exactly a cake walk from where we were to the goddamn apartment. I turned to Santiago. "Guide Nolan, see if we can't lose these bastards."

"If not," he grunted as he stumbled his way to the passenger seat, "then I can get us back another way."

"I really, really don't want to do this on fucking foot," I muttered, shaking my head and giving Bella a quick check. "I want you to hold on and keep low, okay?"

"We don't have to go on foot, Edward," she whispered, gazing out the windshield briefly. "We could lose them in the subway."

Santiago's head snapped around to her, but he was wearing a devious smile. "Spoken like a true New Yorker."

She shrugged. "I know how to get around this town. That's all."

He looked to me. "It's a thought."

I sniffed, shaking my head. "Tim, they still there?"

"And still coming," he replied, pulling out his gun.

I gave Bella a long gaze and then Santiago, finally, waving them on. "If we can't lose them soon – and I mean in the next block or two – then at least get us far enough away from them for a head start."

Nolan nodded that he'd heard me and sped around a couple more corners before Santiago looked back. "Iverson?"

"Still on us," Tim advised, looking away from the window to me. "What'cha wanna do, Cullen?"

My eyes fell to Bella, my nostrils flaring and my teeth grinding. Nothing could touch her. She'd kicked ass today, and I wouldn't let that shit be all for nothing. And all that was looking back at me was trust and a touch of worry.

Meeting Santiago's gaze, I asked, "We can lose them in the subway? This is your hometown, not mine, so I'm conceding this to you, man. I can't have them catch up to us, but we can't fucking lead them to where we're staying."

"We can do this," he stated with a nod. "Marie, what'cha think? ACE trains uptown?"

"Yeah," she answered softly, trying to peer out the windshield. "Where are we?"

"Almost to Washington Square," Nolan answered.

"Get us as close to the Washington Square subway entrance as you can," Santiago ordered him.

I knelt in front of Bella. "This is dangerous, baby," I whispered only for her to hear. "I need you to listen to me carefully, okay?"

She nodded with wide eyes and a bite to her lip.

"I want you in my sight at all times. You'll hold my hand, do what I tell you when I tell you, and if something happens to me—"

"Edward, no..."

I held up a hand. "If something happens, you stick to Santiago like glue. He and Tim will get you back to Jasper. Got me?"

"I need everyone ready in thirty seconds," Nolan called over his shoulder. "You'll have half a block to go before the stairway into the subway, but..." He glanced into his sideview mirror. "Their sight is blocked by two trucks as of now. They won't see you."

I nodded to Santiago but looked right back at Bella. "Promise me."

Her chin quivered, but she nodded firmly.

"Tim, you're with us," I snapped, standing up and taking Bella's hand.

"Sure thing."

Traffic inched up a bit, Santiago grabbed the door handle of the passenger side, and Tim flanked Bella's other side. I took a deep breath, waiting for Nolan.

"No guns on the streets," Santiago suggested. "It's too crowded. Some shit could go way fucking wrong."

"Agreed," Tim and I stated at the same time.

I gave Bella's hand a squeeze, raising a warning eyebrow at her and saying, "Don't you dare fucking let go."

"Okay," she whispered, nodding at the same time.

The van came to a complete stop, and Nolan kept his eyes on the side mirror. "Go, go, go! I'll lead them away from you as best I can!" he told us.

The van's door slid open with a bang, and Iverson and Santiago were on the sidewalk instantly. They gave glances left and right before waving Bella and me forward. The instinct to pull out my gun was hard to ignore, but I focused on the fast-paced walk we were now doing. The stairway into the subway was just ahead, but Iverson gave our six a quick glance.

"Fuck me, they're on foot," he seethed, looking to me. "They must've seen us when Nolan pulled away."

"Mm'kay," Santiago hummed, locking gazes with me. "Then, we run..._now_!"

The four of us took off at a run, Bella keeping a tight grip on my hand. Santiago led us down the sidewalk, spinning around the metal fence and down the stairs. Iverson took our backs. We narrowly avoided bowling over a young mother and her kid, not to mention an old man just trying to get up the stairs, but we continued to dodge civilians left and right.

Our advantage was our training. All of us. Even Bella was in decent shape. The guys behind us weren't as fit. We barreled down the long passageway toward the turnstiles, Santiago immediately pulling out his U.S. Marshal's shield.

"Federal agent. Move!" he yelled to the security guards that were already eyeballing us.

They backed off when Santiago launched over the turnstile on the far right, stopping long enough to reach for Bella when I lifted her up and over.

It was when she was set back down and almost slipped that she let out a curse, giving her shoes a scowl and kicked out of them. "Fuck that shit," she muttered, taking my hand again.

I pointed to the closest guard. "Don't let them through," I snapped, jerking a thumb back to where our pursuers were still coming our way.

"That won't stop them," Santiago stated, coming to a stop on the platform. "It'll merely slow them down. They'll either pay or go around to another entrance."

Just as he said that, sounds of chaos echoed up from behind us, along with the sounds of the incoming train.

"Fuck me," Iverson grunted, looking between me and Santiago.

Three goons were forcing their way through the crowd, but they were making their way through simply due to the guns in their hands.

Iverson stepped forward, glancing down the tunnel and then toward the three hitmen. He sniffed, looking to me. "Do you trust me?"

"What'cha thinkin'?" I panted.

He looked to Bella and then to me. "Jump," he muttered, jerking his thumb behind him at the tracks below.

"Are you crazy?" Bella whimpered, now seeing that the train's front light was in sight down the tunnel.

I shot a look to the three mob guys and shook my head. "Go!" I told him before I could change my fucking mind.

Santiago and Iverson dropped to the tracks below. I swung Bella up into my arms bridal-style, handing her down. Waiting on the platform, I made sure that the hitmen saw what we were doing, that Santiago was out of the way, and that the train was almost into the station before jumping as hard and as far as I could, despite the screaming I could hear from Bella – my name and curse words the most discernible.

I swear to God, the back of my suit jacket was hit by the front corner of that motherfucking train, but it was so worth it because there wasn't a thing the guys chasing us could do about it. I jumped over two tracks, pulling myself up on the other platform, only to be met with smacks to wherever Bella could reach.

"Have you lost your mind? You could've been fucking killed!" she hissed at me, every word accented with a pummel to my arms, chest, and stomach.

I grabbed her by the wrists, ignoring the chuckles from the other two men. "No, I haven't. I've bought us time! Look..."

Her wild brown eyes gazed over at the train that was loading. She could see the three men pacing back and forth, but at that moment, another train pulled in on our side, blocking out everything. Guiding a still-seething and now barefooted Bella onto the train, I sat her down in the closest empty seat while Iverson and Santiago took either end of the car.

Kneeling in front of her, I said, "I'm sorry I scared you. I needed to buy us time, to block their way—"

"Don't!" she huffed, looking away from me. "Don't ever do that to me again." When she set her sights on me again, her eyes were fire and pure anger and something I couldn't quite place, but it was sexy as all hell. "I don't fucking want Santiago...or...or Tim to _get me back to Jasper_," she stated in a hissing whisper, using air-quotes to spit my own words back to me. "Do you hear me, Edward?"

Swallowing thickly, I nodded. "Yes."

"All I could see was you and that fucking train coming," she muttered, frowning at me but distracting herself by tugging off her now-ruined hose-like things. She wadded them up and stuffed them into the pocket of her pants. "And we're going the wrong way."

"We'll change trains at the next stop," I assured her, letting out a breath that she'd at least stopped seething at me...and hitting me.

She was eerily silent for the rest of the ride, even when we decided against changing trains and opted for a cab. She sat between Tim and me in the back seat while Santiago sat in the front as we wound around Midtown toward Chelsea. No one followed us, no one looked suspicious, and no one said a word. Even the cabbie, who had been fucking chatty when we first got in, shut the hell up when no one engaged with him.

Just in case, Santiago took his information and told him to keep the ride off the record and to forget where he dropped us off. Iverson followed us as far as the front lobby, but Santiago rode the elevator to the penthouse floor. I opened the door, and Bella bolted inside, but Santiago stopped me.

His smirk was hard to miss. "Thought she'd claw me to death when she watched what you did back there, kid."

I shook my head but said nothing, afraid anything I did say would be misconstrued.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "She trusts you. Openly. And that's good." His eyes narrowed on me again. "Ask your Uncle Al how I met my wife...and why I'm partially retired."

My eyes snapped to his, and I didn't have to ask. I saw it all in his expression. "WitSec?" I asked.

"Indeed," he said with a chuckle. "Your uncle's a sly old man. I was wondering why he requested me specifically."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. One day, I was really going to punch Al. Maybe at the next family gathering I could attend. I sighed, shaking my head as Santiago smiled at me while the elevator doors closed.

Walking into the house, I saw Jasper looking worriedly down the hallway toward the room I shared with Bella.

"Ooh, she's pissed, dude. What did you do? And you look like hell!"

"Later," I muttered, following the sound of Alice's chatter.

Bella was rambling about what had happened, but her eyes met mine and she shut up when I stepped into the room. Alice could only watch her sister pace – dirty feet and all – at the end of the bed. She'd already removed her sweater, outer shirt, and the Kevlar vest.

Alice shot me a worried glance, standing up from the bed and saying, "Jasper cooked dinner. We'll talk about everything later." She kissed Bella's cheek, giving her a small smile before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

It was then I got a chance to really look at Bella's feet. Small specks of blood stained the carpet.

"Come here, baby," I sighed, shrugging out of my jacket and tossing it on the bed. My tie followed right behind it.

Bella said nothing as I ushered her into the bathroom, plugged up the sink, and filled it with warm water. Lifting her up, I set her next to it on the vanity. I dropped a clean washcloth into the water, but Bella stopped me. With a furrowed brow, she unbuckled my shoulder harness and unbuttoned my shirt, shoving it all off my shoulders to the floor, and then she ripped the Velcro on my own vest.

"Bella," I sighed, reaching for the wet cloth and starting to clean up her right foot. "I had to keep you safe. I knew what I was doing."

"I know."

I dropped the cloth back into the water, causing a small splash, but I grasped either side of her beautiful face, pressing my forehead to hers. "No! You _don't_ fucking know, Bella. I _have _to keep you safe. Not for court, not for my job...for _me_!"

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she nodded. "I don't want anyone else to get me to Seattle, Edward."

"I know."

"No, you don't."

I smiled when she locked gazes with me. We were both trying our fucking best to say the same damn thing. Considering our pasts, that was just about the closest we'd probably get at the moment. Trusting someone with your life was one thing; trusting them with your heart was another.

The adrenaline in my veins was still pounding, and I couldn't keep my lips off her. Strange noises erupted from us at the same time as I kissed the shit out of her. She pulled me between her legs, wrapping those glorious things around my waist as her fingers wove into my hair. I slowed the kiss down, raking my teeth over her bottom lip. Pulling back, I gazed at her.

"I'll be more careful, Bella," I vowed softly, and she nodded. Picking up the cloth once again, I said, "Now, let me clean you up."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: :D Aw, now...you didn't think we'd let it go completely perfect, did you? ;) Nah...of course you didn't. And you gotta love Al. Always thinking ahead...this time with Santiago. You'll hear more from him and about his situation later.**

**But how 'bout Bella kickin' ass and takin' names on the stand? What a relief that must be. LOL**

**Be sure to check out my blog & Jenny's site for a great manip Bethy made to go along with this chapter! Links are on our profile.**

**The fic rec this week is _The Man in the Moon_ by CullensTwiMistress. It's a WIP, but updates fairly regularly. And oh my goodness, if this isn't the sweetest, kindest Edward! This isn't for the angst-lovers. It's just a simple sweet story that's written so well and makes your heart feel good. :)**

**If you aren't a member of our FB group, you probably haven't heard, but Mimi Holmes (who helped make our gorgeous banner for _In Pursuit_!) did up a beautiful PDF for _Coming Home_, complete with pictures & outtakes. It's on my blog (the link to which can be found on our profile) and is linked to directly on our profile as well. So do check that out!**

**Okay, so a reminder... No more teasers. We'll see you on Wednesday for chapter 19. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

******A/N #1: Ahhh, we survived court, day one. All of you were so relieved that Bella and Edward made it back safely. C'mon! You should know by now that Deb & I are ALL about the HEA! :D You're still worrying about their being a traitor in the mix – Iverson in particular. But keep in mind that I'm telling you that I love Iverson...a lot. ;) So...**

******Just a quick note: Someone brought up worrying about the camera in the holding room before Bella went in to testify. Edward didn't cross any real lines where the camera could see. He was a marshal trying to get his witness to calm down before going in to testify. Sure, a little hands-on touchy feely, but he didn't hug her, didn't kiss her or touch her anywhere but the back of her neck. So they're fine, we promise. ;)**

******Now, enjoy, and see Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

******~oOo~**

******Chapter 19**

******Bella POV**

"Bella, wake up, baby."

I stretched and rolled over, coming face to face with Edward's sweet, concerned gaze.

"Hmm?"

"Alice is kind of panicking, and Jasper can't calm her down," he explained.

Shit. Today was Alice's day in court, and I'd known the night before that she was nervous – especially after our experience with Volturi's goons. We'd both been up till around midnight, talking about what she could expect and about what we would do after the trial.

"'Kay," I mumbled, scrubbing my hands over my face. "Tell him I'll be right out."

Edward nodded and kissed my forehead before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Swinging my legs around, I sat up and squinted at the red glow of the clock on the nightstand. Five o'clock. ___Fuck me._What the hell was she doing up already? She and Jasper didn't need to leave until seven. Grabbing a pair of shorts, I pulled them on under Edward's T-shirt that I'd worn to bed and ran a hand through my hair as I opened the bedroom door.

I could hear Jasper's soothing Southern drawl before I got to the other bedroom. When I stepped into the doorway, I saw him sitting on the bed, trying to comfort my sister, who was sitting up with her back against the headboard, arms wrapped around her drawn-up knees. Her face was buried in her knees and she was rocking, silent except for the occasional hiccuping cry.

When he heard me at the door, Jasper turned to me, smiling sadly. "Maybe you can get her to listen and talk," he murmured, smoothing a hand over the top of Alice's head before climbing to his feet and edging by me.

I nodded and gestured for him to shut the door behind him, leaving me alone with Alice.

"Come here, sweetie," I huffed, sliding onto the bed beside her and pulling her down until her head was lying on my lap.

I let her cry for several minutes, feeling her tremble under my hand, which never quit moving as I rubbed her arm, her shoulder, smoothing her hair away from her face and then back down. Finally, I said, "Tell me what's scaring you the most, Pix."

She spoke so softly, I had to strain to hear. "I woke up from a nightmare. The men who chased you yesterday came after us today when we were leaving the courthouse, only this time, we weren't so lucky. I watched Jasper get shot, and then the guy turned his gun on me. I woke up right after I fell to the ground in pain."

"Oh, sweetie. It's not gonna happen, I—" I paused, hating to promise anything like that, but unable to stop myself, I continued. "I swear to you, it won't happen. Remember, Edward and Jasper met last night with Tim, Santiago, and Shawn, conferencing Ben in over the phone, and they figured out ways to prevent that from happening again."

Alice nodded but stayed quiet, so I went on.

"Ben has men he can trust keeping an eye on Riley, so the man won't be able to step foot in the courthouse today. And instead of using the same vehicle, you'll be dropped off in a mail truck and picked up in a cleaning service truck. Tim won't be standing at the exit door waiting for you. He'll be roaming the halls until it's time and then he'll meet you there." I wiped a tear from her cheek before continuing. "They're taking every precaution today so that what happened yesterday isn't repeated. You're in the best of hands, sweetie."

She nodded, finally sitting up. "I know. I really do. It's just...terrifying." She raked her hair back from her face and shrugged. "I don't know how you are handling this all so well. I'm a nervous wreck all the time."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, believe me, I've had my moments. Yesterday was bad for me, but I got through it. You will, too."

Alice nodded, covering her mouth when she yawned. "I guess I should go ahead and get ready. Will you bring me a cup of coffee after my shower and sit with me while I get dressed and fix my hair?"

"Yeah, of course." I hugged her and then climbed off the bed. "Just yell out for me when you're ready," I said before leaving her to the silence of the still room.

An hour and a half later, Edward and I were standing at the door with Alice and Jasper. The guys were talking quietly, giving Alice and me a moment. Putting my hands on her shoulders, I turned her so we were face to face.

"You can do this, Pix," I said firmly. "Once you get on that stand, you'll be amazed at how...freeing it is to get the story out there and watch the smirk disappear from that monster's face."

She nodded, but said meekly, "I'm scared."

I nodded. "I know. I was, too." Looking over at Edward and Jasper, I saw that the latter was watching Alice with a concerned look – not to mention the love I could see shining through everything else. Lowering my voice, I continued, "Trust Jasper, sweetie. The man loves you. He's not gonna let anything happen to you."

"You think?" she whispered just as quietly so they didn't hear.

"I'd bet on it," I assured her.

Her smile came more easily this time, although there was still the underlying fear.

I yawned hard, covering my mouth as my eyes watered. I may have had five hours of sleep, but after the long, emotional day the day before and my nerves over Alice's trip to court, I hadn't slept well.

Alice laughed softly. "Go back to bed once I leave, okay? Get some more sleep."

I nodded as a knock on the door startled the both of us. It was Tim's second knock, reminding us of the time.

"Time to go, darlin'," Jasper said, getting Alice's attention.

She nodded and moved to him as I moved to Edward and let him wrap his arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my temple. Together, we watched them leave the apartment, and then Edward turned me around and gave me a little push.

"Come on, sleepy girl. Let's do as Alice said and get some rest. You were up way too early after your late night."

~oOo~

"I hate this," I mumbled into my pillow. "My mind won't shut off."

I shifted under the sheet, the cool softness feeling good as it slid over my skin. I'd shed everything but my panties before crawling into bed after Alice and Jasper left.

"Oh, baby. Come here," Edward said soothingly. He scooted toward me and pulled my back to his front, wrapping his arm around my waist and tucking his legs behind mine. It aligned our bodies just perfectly, and I could feel his erection poking the cleft of my ass. "Sorry," he said as I wiggled my hips a bit. "Just ignore it."

I reached back and put a hand on his hip to stop him from moving away. "Stay," I whispered, smiling when I felt him settle back behind me. I was scared to death for Alice, but having him wrapped around me gave me a relief, of sorts. It allowed my mind to shut out everything I couldn't control – Alice's testimony and safety on the way to and from the courthouse being the main things.

We didn't speak for a moment, but feeling him trapped between our bodies was ruining my panties and making me think of him in other, better, places. I squeezed my legs together, reminded of just the night before, when he'd taken me hard in the dark and I'd had to bite my lip to keep quiet.

"We're all alone," I said, wiggling my hips again, only to feel him buck against me.

"That we are." His voice was a purr in my ear when he asked, "What should we do about that?"

A shiver wracked my frame as he brushed my hair back to place a trail of soft kisses down my neck and across my shoulder, and when he sucked lightly at the skin there, I gasped softly.

"Oh, God," I whimpered when he reached around and slid his hand into the front of my panties.

His long fingers brushed back and forth, my skin slick under his hand. "Fuck, you're so wet," he uttered against my skin as he placed an open-mouthed kiss to my shoulder.

He knew just how to tease me, touching me everywhere but the spot that was aching for it. He circled my opening with two fingers until I rolled my hips, and then both fingers slid in until they could go no farther. He fucked me with his fingers, my arousal making it easy for him, as my entire body began tightening.

"Edward, please!" I begged, needing him to finally touch my clit.

"You want to come, beautiful?" he breathed across my skin.

Words failed me, and I could only nod frantically. The flame he'd lit inside me at the first touch flared again when he curled his fingers on the next stroke, and my breath caught when he pressed the heel of his hand hard against my clit.

The pressure, combined with his words of, "I want to hear you when you come, Bella," was enough to set me off, and the heat exploded inside me as I tumbled over the edge.

"Edward!" I gasped when he bit gently at the juncture of my neck and shoulder, which had me clenching harder around him. "Fuck!"

I was still breathing hard, my eyes squeezed tightly closed, when Edward freed his hand, raised my leg, and jerked my panties to the side so he could push inside me in one long thrust. Lowering my leg, he then reached around and began sliding his finger over and around my clit, using his hips to drive himself into me.

In the position we were in, there wasn't a lot of leverage, but the angle was just right to hit that spot inside me every time he pushed in, leaving me a shaking mess. I reached back and found purchase in his hair, holding his face to my shoulder.

"Come again, Bella," he growled softly against my skin. "Come with me, baby."

"Fuck!" I cried out as he rolled my clit between his fingers.

I shattered around him, squeezing his cock as he continued to thrust. He cursed, his thrusts becoming jerky as he spilled himself inside me.

We breathed hard for several minutes before he finally slid out of me and turned to his back.

"Christ," he groaned, pulling and tugging at my shoulder until I turned to face him and curled into his side.

"Mmhmm," I agreed, kissing his chest.

He chuckled when I was unable to hold back a yawn. "Let's try to get that sleep now, yeah?"

Nodding, I could feel my eyes already closing, so I gave into the darkness and finally slept.

~oOo~

I stepped into the cold enclosure and turned on the water, adjusting the temperature as Edward did what he needed to do before joining me. We'd woken up a few minutes before, having slept for almost three hours, and decided a shower was in order – together, of course, to "save water," according to Edward, which had made me roll my eyes and laugh. He'd taken one look at me after waking and apparently decided that he had to do his damnedest to distract me, which we both knew would save me from pacing the apartment until my sister was back.

Moments later, air whooshed in as Edward opened the shower door and stepped in behind me, wrapping me in his arms. His breath ghosted across my cheek as he said, "Mm, wet, naked Bella. I think that's my favorite."

Laughing, I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck, shaking my head. "That's what you said about happy, sated Bella, and warm, sleepy Bella, and..." My voice trailed off as I kissed him before pulling back and raising an eyebrow. "Need I go on?"

He grinned, shrugging. "Sue me. I like all my Bellas."

I laughed again, stepping past him and pushing him into the spray before grabbing the body wash and washcloth for myself. "Clean yourself up, silly man."

Although he began lathering up his own washcloth with the soap from the stand in the corner, his dark, heated eyes were on me as I ran the bubbly cloth over my skin, starting at my neck, down my arms, and then up to my torso. I couldn't help but tease him a little by paying extra care to make sure my breasts were clean. And when I finally ran the cloth down my legs and back up to the juncture of my thighs, my gaze landed on his erection, which was jutting out from his body enticingly.

God, he was beautiful. His cock was the perfect length – long without being scary-looking – and big enough around that my fingers didn't touch when I wrapped them around him. The shaft was the same color as the rest of his body, while the mushroom head was a few shades darker. I could see the large vein running up the underside, leading down to his balls. The hair at the base of his cock was trimmed neatly – I'd teased him more than once about manscaping, but I'd definitely experienced the benefits.

When my eyes finally moved from his groin to his face, he was watching me with a mix of amusement and lust. I caught myself before I could blush, realizing I had no reason to be embarrassed about checking him out any more than he should be embarrassed looking at me.

Pushing him back a step with the tip of my finger to his chest, I then watched as the water sluiced down his body, rinsing away the soap bubbles. I stepped up and quickly rinsed the soap from myself before backing away again. Dropping to my knees, I looked up at him from hooded eyes as he realized what my intentions were. When he stepped forward again, out of the spray, I reached up and took him in hand, hiding my smile when his groan echoed off the tiles.

His cock was already leaking from the tip, and I couldn't help but lap up the pearly drop, humming at the musky, salty taste of him. I continued to watch him as I stroked and sucked, noticing his reactions with each new movement of my hand or mouth. When I twisted my hand on the upstroke, he bucked his hips. Sliding my mouth down around him until he hit the back of my throat caused him to curse and slap his hand against the shower wall. And when I began bobbing up and down on his shaft, stroking the base with one hand while the other rolled his balls around in my palm, he put a hand in my hair and held me gently as he guided me.

But it was when two of my fingers slipped back to tease his perineum, pressing gently over and over again, that my name flew from his lips as both a curse and prayer and he came almost violently down my throat.

"Christ, Bella," he panted, helping me to stand before pushing me into the cool tiles and kissing the ever-loving hell out of me. When he pulled away, he was still panting. His forehead dropped to mine, and for a moment, we shared breaths as he finished coming down from his orgasm.

As we finished our shower, conversation was light and easy, including what we wanted to eat for lunch and what movie to watch. There was a lot of heavy stuff to think about – Alice, getting out of New York safely, our future in Seattle – but I avoided them all, afraid if I got started on anything heavy, I'd start to cry and wouldn't be able to stop.

When I stepped out, Edward was there with a towel for me, one already wrapped securely around his waist. I dried off and walked naked to the bedroom to get dressed as Edward stayed in the bathroom to shave off the slight scruff that I found oh-so-sexy.

I walked back into the bathroom to dry my hair, and his eyes darkened. I'd put on just a pair of black boyshort panties and Edward's Batman T-shirt, which Alice had washed for me the day before when I was in court.

When he reached for me, I backed away, laughing. "None of that now, mister. You need to finish that"—waving my finger at his foam-covered cheek—"and I need to dry my hair. Then you need to feed me."

His lip curled in that deadly smirk of his, and he said, "I thought I already did that."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Real food, Edward. Feed the beast so the beast doesn't eat us both."

I couldn't help but laugh again when he looked almost disappointed.

~oOo~

We ate a light lunch, having decided on an early dinner of Edward's mom's spaghetti since Alice hadn't eaten breakfast before leaving for court, so she would probably be very hungry when she got home.

I hopped up on the kitchen counter, gasping at the cool granite under my bare thighs, while I watched Edward cook. He looked damn sexy in jeans, no shirt, and bare feet. The kitchen wasn't really his thing, but he was confident in what he was making, and it showed.

Every time he walked by me to grab another ingredient, either he stopped to kiss me, sliding his hands up my thighs, or I reached out and snagged his arm, pulling him over so I could kiss him.

"You're killing me," he said after one kiss, dropping his forehead to my shoulder. "Sitting there looking like something I could...eat." He bit my neck playfully, causing me to squeal.

"Not my fault," I teased, raising my hands innocently.

He muttered something under his breath about, "my shirt," and "fuckable," and "no damn self-control."

I giggled as he raised a cool eyebrow and went back to adding seasonings to his veggies and wine mixture. Finally, he added in the ground beef he'd browned, stirred it with the big wooden spoon, and then topped off the pot with the lid before turning to me.

"This should be good to go for now. Come on, wench. Let's see what's on TV."

~oooOOOooo~

******Edward POV**

"Fuck, Bella," I groaned, squeezing my eyes closed as she straddled me on the chaise end of the sofa. "I can't... Not when you're in my shirt. I fucking love when you're in my shirt." I was rambling, but it didn't seem to bother Bella one bit.

She smiled against the skin of my neck, biting softly. "I love the way you touch me when I'm in your sh-shirt."

I chuckled darkly when my touch actually caused her speech to falter. "Yeah?" I asked her, my hands every-fucking-where – under her shirt, in the back of her underwear, where I cupped and squeezed and kneaded.

Bella's relief at having finished with her testimony was practically palpable. Despite all the dangerous shit that still surrounded us in this God-forsaken city, the fact that she'd done what she'd needed to was like a weight had been lifted. Now it was Alice's turn. We'd tried to calm the tiny thing down that morning, but until Alice experienced it for herself and returned back safely, she wouldn't grasp it. And she ___would_ return safely, because I wouldn't allow that shit to happen again. I'd rearranged security measures with Santiago so what happened to us the day of Bella's testimony would not fucking happen again.

The TV droned on softly behind Bella, the scent of tomatoes, garlic, and onions wafted all over the apartment as my mother's spaghetti sauce simmered in the kitchen for later, and the sound of Bella's moan for more made my cock twitch hard between us.

Fuck me, I couldn't resist her in my clothes. And today was the biggest tease of all: Batman. Sleeping in it was sexy enough, but walking around the apartment in it – just in that damn shirt and a deadly pair of boyshorts – was a different form of torture altogether. It was like kryptonite to Superman.

Having the place all to ourselves was proving so fucking dangerous. Not only had we tumbled back into bed once Alice and Jasper had left the apartment, but we'd barely let five minutes go by before touching and kissing started all over. It had taken much longer than usual to prepare the spaghetti sauce because Bella had been sitting on the counter like a delicious meal ready to be eaten.

Finally, we'd tried to watch TV, but Bella lying between my legs, smelling of flowers and fruit and sex, was just too much to resist. I'd grown hard at a simple shifting from her, she'd felt it, causing her nipples to peak under my damn shirt, and that was all she wrote. I'd been unable to stop myself.

Yanking Bella roughly forward, I pressed her down on me, seeking friction. My dick was not happy that she was so fucking close and he was trapped behind denim like a starving man locked outside a buffet. She braced herself on the back of the sofa on either side of my head, her hair draping around our faces like a curtain.

"Mm, baby, let me help with this," I purred, locking gazes with her as my hand cupped her pussy possessively over her underwear. The black cotton was hot and damp, and I couldn't resist applying pressure with the heel of my hand to where she needed it. Slipping inside the front of her panties, I teased her from one end to the other and asked, "What do you want, Bella? Tell me."

"That!" she moaned sexily, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her hips pressed down over my hand. "Don't stop, Edward."

I smiled, loving that command from her. I grasped the back of her neck and forced her forehead to mine as I drove two fingers deep inside her.

Nipping at her lips, I whispered, "Then take it. Fuck my hand. And eyes on me when you come, baby."

There was something so damned powerful and mesmerizing about watching Bella's orgasm build and build and then explode. I could get a woman off – at least, no one had ever complained – but with Bella, it was just different. Watching her fall apart at my hands – literally – made me feel like I owned the damn world.

My eyes never left hers as I whispered encouragement against her lips. Her body shook, her pussy was fucking soaked, and I could hear her fingernails scratching into the sofa behind me. With a pinch to her nipple, a bite to her bottom lip, and my thumb in the right spot, Bella shattered over me. Wrapping her arms around my head, she melted against me. I was panting just as hard as she was, our lips barely touching.

"Damn, that's... I could watch that all fucking day," I whispered, brushing a kiss across her lips that quirked up into a small smile.

Both of us jumped a little when the intercom at the door beeped. Frowning when she slid off my lap and onto the couch, I stood up with a groan. I shot Bella a grumpy look when she giggled at me for trying to adjust my aching cock, who was now really close to protesting his entrapment.

She was still laughing softly at me when I snapped over the intercom, "What?!"

"S-Sorry to bother you, sir," the agent at the front security desk stammered. Agent Zafrina Puri was the only female marshal on the team Al had created. She was young, with mocha skin and almond-shaped eyes, and she seemed pretty damn sharp. "There are two detectives here to see you. Cheney? They're on the cleared list."

I grinned, glancing over at Bella, whose face had lit up. "Verify ID, make sure they weren't followed, and send 'em up."

"Will do, sir," she replied, and the line went dead.

Bella got up and walked to me, standing up on her toes to kiss my lips. "I'm gonna get cleaned up, Edward. Try not to intimidate the young, pretty marshal, yeah?"

I scowled, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "This is her first assignment. She should be intimidated. And I didn't notice her looks," I grumbled, my eyes raking over the Batman symbol that looked fuck-awesome over her plump breasts.

"That's good because she didn't notice yours, either...or any ___man,_ for that matter." Bella chuckled, raising an eyebrow at me.

My eyebrows shot up as I watched her make her way down the hallway. "How do you know that?!" I yelled after her.

"Women's intuition."

I snorted softly to myself and stepped back into the kitchen to check my sauce. I gave it a slow stir, a quick taste, and put the lid back on before walking into the bedroom to put on a shirt. The bathroom was closed, the light shining beneath the door, so I left Bella to finish up. Just as I hit the hallway, a knock pounded on the door.

I checked the hallway through the door and then opened it. Agent Puri was standing behind Ben and Angela, giving the latter the once-over. Fuck, Bella was right.

"Hey, guys, come on in," I told them, turning to Zafrina. "Thanks."

She nodded once and turned back toward the elevator. I waited until it slid closed before shutting the apartment door. Ben and Angela were giving the apartment a long, slow gaze that made me chuckle.

"Damn, this sure as shit beats the Friendly Motel!" Angela giggled, and behind her, Ben smiled wryly and nodded in agreement.

"A ___crack house_ would beat that joint," I countered, opening my arms when she walked to me for a hug. "Not that I'm complaining, but what brings you here?" I asked after kissing Ang's cheek. I reached for Ben's outstretched hand and shook it. "Did something happen?"

Ben smirked, waving my question away. "No, no. Ang wanted to see Mary and Marie, and I had news on our buddy Riley," he said with an amused snicker.

"Where are the girls?" Angela asked, looking around.

"B—Marie's here, cleaning up at the moment, but she'll be out any minute, and Mary's in court, though I expect that one back with Jasper soon," I explained carefully, because it had become habit to use Bella's and Alice's new names. We all sat down in the living room. "So, talk to me."

Ben smirked, shook his head a little, and took a deep breath, but paused mid-inhale. "Aw, fuck me, Edward! Is that your mom's sauce I smell?"

I cracked the fuck up. "Yeah. Relax, asshole. There's enough for everyone. Stick around and we'll eat once everyone's here."

Angela rolled her eyes. "God, that brings back some memories."

"No shit," I said with a chuckle. "Last-minute cram sessions..."

"Video game tournaments," Ben added.

"No, no," Angela sighed. "Esme made this for me when she found out my grandma died. Remember?"

Smiling sadly, I nodded. "She always cooked when someone was upset. She said we needed—"

"Comfort food," we all said at the same time.

Rose and I had never complained that it was our house, our parents that our friends would rather hang out with. Our dad was rarely home due to his medical career, but our mother was willing to be the neighborhood mom – feeding us, caring for us, and just being there. When Angela lost her grandmother, my mom had taken her under her wing throughout the entire grieving process.

We were quiet for a moment, until the padding of soft steps met my ears. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Bella had changed into clean clothes. Gone was my Batman T-shirt, but she still looked beautiful in simple denim shorts and a pale pink shirt, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail.

"There she is!" Angela gushed, getting up to envelope Bella in a big hug. "How'd it go yesterday?"

"Besides the big chase?" Bella asked wryly, narrowing her eyes on me for scaring the shit out of her in the subway.

"Oh, hell, Marie," Ben sighed, getting up to hug her as well and then placed his hands on her shoulders. "I need to apologize for that. I knew you guys were there, but Riley and I were in a different courtroom for a different case. If I'd known where you were leaving, I wouldn't have had his ass there."

Bella shook her head, taking a seat next to me on the couch. "Edward explained. No need to apologize," she allowed graciously. "It went fine," she said to Ang, shrugging a shoulder. "It was like I left everything up there. I hope that A—Oh." She frowned, looking to me. "Can I use our names?"

"You're not supposed to, B," I told her, "but you can trust these two. It's up to you. Is that what you want?"

Bella nodded, looking a touch shy as she bit down on her bottom lip.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I turned to my two oldest and most trustworthy friends. "Ben, Angela... Meet Bella Swan, my girlfriend. Her sister, Alice, should be back any minute. ___Technically____,_they're from Seattle." I huffed a laugh but shrugged a little.

Ben grinned, holding out a hand to shake Bella's. "I'm glad you got to keep at least a bit of your real names. It's nice to meet you, ___Bella.__" _He shot her a wink.

Angela, on the other hand, was just about to bounce out of her own skin. She grinned at Bella, scooting over to hug her again. "I knew it! Told you... Marshmallowy center."

Bella giggled and nodded, and I had no fucking clue what that shit meant. And I was pretty sure I didn't want to know, though my confused face just made them laugh harder.

Ben shrugged dramatically, looking just as confused as me, but sat forward resting his elbows on his knees. "Riley," he sighed, locking gazes with me. "That little weasel... He's now suspended, under investigation with Internal Affairs, and is sporting a black eye." He held up his fist to show some pretty hefty bruising across his knuckles.

That brought the room to a standstill. He glanced around at all of us before continuing.

"I told you his dad's a judge," he reminded me, and I nodded. "Well, his dad is also a gambler. And he owes some ugly people a lot of money – apparently, he isn't a very ___good_ gambler. Anyway, to keep his dad safe, Riley's been leaking information out of the precinct for the last year or so. At first, it was just petty shit. You know, to keep Caius's men out of jail – lost records, mishandled evidence, that sort of shit.

"When Volturi killed Denali, it was a double-edged sword for Riley." Ben shook his head slowly, looking to me. "I kinda feel for the guy, knowing the truth behind his actions, but still... Riley wanted Volturi to go away, but he also saw the girls as an opportunity to pay off all his father's debt, in one big payout." Ben's gaze fell to Bella, his eyes warm. "When he saw you in the courthouse, he'd just come from his father's office, Mar...er, Bella. He thought he was being slick, but he wasn't. He acted like he needed to speak to his dad one more time, only to call into...whoever about where you were, what exit you'd left out of, and the description of your vehicle. He didn't know I'd followed him. And he really didn't expect me to punch the shit out of him."

Ben grinned proudly when I snorted into a laugh.

"Glad to know I taught you something," I teased him. "I was tired of beating people up for you."

"We're not in junior high anymore, dick sneeze!" Ben rolled his eyes but sobered up quickly as he looked to Bella. "He saves me from a few bullies, and he's a right hero," he muttered sarcastically.

Bella giggled, looking over at me and then back to Ben. "So what happens to him now?"

"He's in a lot of trouble," he said firmly. "He's being watched twenty-four-seven, not only for his safety, but to make sure he behaves. His father, on the other hand, has been stripped of his duties as judge."

"We think..." Angela started, grimacing a little. "We think it was Riley that leaked our whereabouts when you were under our protection and what he knew about WitSec taking possession of you. There's not much he could've told them, but it wouldn't surprise me that he facilitated that last leak of your whereabouts in Connecticut, or at least how to get the information."

I nodded, having assumed as much. "Anything else?"

Ben and Angela exchanged a look, but it was Angela that spoke up.

"Word on the street is that Caius's brother, Marcus, is getting ready to assume command, should Caius be convicted," she stated.

"One big, happy fucking family," I sneered, shaking my head and thinking these bastards didn't know when to quit. Just when one was caught, another would step in to take over.

"Normally, I would agree with you, considering it was their great-grandfather that started that family back in the day," Ben said, nodding a little. "But Caius and Marcus have never been close. Rumor has it they had a falling out years and years ago. The fact that Marcus has stepped up now is causing quite the stir."

The door to the apartment opened, and Jasper and Alice stepped in wearing rather proud smirks on their faces. Bella got up and rushed to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Alice, and immediately, her posture changed; her shoulders dropped into a more relaxed position, and she almost sagged with the relief at seeing her sister back from court safe and sound.

"How'd it go?" she asked softly.

Alice grinned. "You were right. That asshole's face just...fell when I pointed him out in court today."

"Told you," Bella sang with a chuckle.

Ben and Angela got up to greet the two. The girls were a cacophony of chatter – catching up, exchanging their real names, and trading stories about how court had gone.

"Fuck, I'm starving, Ed. Is that your sauce?"

Grinning, I stood up from the sofa. "Yeah, yeah... I'm on it. I'll start the noodles and the garlic bread."

As I walked into the kitchen, I heard Alice say she wanted to change clothes, so all the girls headed down the hallway. Jasper and Ben joined me in the kitchen, leaning on the counter. As I started a pot of water for the pasta and heated up the oven for garlic bread, I turned to Jasper.

"How'd it go? For real?"

"She was scared to fucking death," Jasper whispered, shaking his head and toying with the salt and pepper shakers. "Security went perfect," he said with a shrug to his shoulder. "But Alice didn't relax until about halfway through Banner's questioning."

"Yeah, Bella was the same way," I told him, pouring spaghetti into the now-boiling water.

Dinner was a loud, talkative affair, with Alice having two helpings of spaghetti because she hadn't really eaten anything all day. Ben explained to Jasper and Alice about Riley, but the case faded into the background as Angela and Ben told stories about our growing up. They'd laughed their asses off when they realized where we'd finally found a safe place – Forks. But that only led to talking about old times, and that's when the girls and Jasper could join in since they were now familiar with that small-ass town.

As they talked about my football games, Ben and Ang's first date in ninth grade, and all the other shit I'd forgotten about, I realized I missed Forks. Picking up Bella's hand under the table, I played with her fingers, wondering if it was homesickness I felt, or something else. We had a bit more time to wait out the trial – hell, the prosecution hadn't rested yet – before we'd head back, but we wouldn't be back for long. And a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach made me take a deep breath and let it out. We'd be in Seattle soon, and from there? I had no fucking clue. There were so many things yet to be talked about – futures, jobs, places to live and, most importantly, keeping the girls safe. Was it wrong that I wanted to blend myself in every aspect of Bella's future? I wasn't sure.

"We'd better get going," Angela said, patting my hand to get my attention that had wandered far, far away.

"Yeah, I'm in court tomorrow," Ben stated, standing up and offering Ang his hand.

Giving Bella's hand a squeeze, I let it go and said, "I'll walk you down."

There were hugs for them both and well-wishes for him in court the next day, and I grabbed the keys from the hook by the door, leading them out into the hallway. It wasn't until we were in the elevator and moving before Ben looked at me.

"Girlfriend?"

I snorted, raising an eyebrow at him, but before he could elaborate, Angela stepped up to me, cupping my face.

"You..." She shook her head before finding her voice again. "Edward, you look...so happy," she whispered, studying my face. "It's about time, after—"

"Maggie. Yeah," I sighed, nodding a little and looking up when the elevator doors opened to the fairly empty lobby.

Angela stopped me again just outside the elevator. "Can you? I mean, is it allowed? What's Uncle Al say?"

I chuckled. "It's not something that's written in stone, but it has happened before. We're not suppose to advertise it."

Ben nodded, smiling a little. "Makes sense. I mean, you're trusted with their identities in the first place. Who better to guard that than someone that cares for them?"

Smiling at how he sounded just like Jasper when he'd torn me a new asshole those first days in Forks, I took a deep breath. "Whether or not I ___can_ is different than whether or not I ___should._I mean, Bella is... She's...important. But she'll have this new life..." I grimaced, but it was so fucking true, despite the fact that the word "more" was screaming in my head instead of "important."

"Edward, sweetie, look at me," Angela soothed, taking my hand. "You know I love you, but you can't let the what-ifs get to you. You also can't let what Maggie did to you guide your life forever. Sometimes, you have to follow...this," she stated, placing a hand over my heart. "She's ___so good for you_. I see it." She ruffled my hair like she always did, and I smiled at her. "Hearts will break all over Washington. Besides, I knew you were a goner when you didn't give me shit about Ben."

Grinning, I broke into a nervous chuckle. "I still don't get it."

"Shut up, Edward!" she huffed, now smacking my chest. "Shut up, accept what you feel, and know you deserve it. Don't you dare miss this opportunity. Life is too short to push love away."

I flinched at the word that I'd tried so hard to push back, but I leaned down, kissing Angela's cheek, because I knew she was talking about the loss of Daniel. "What's 'marshmallowy center?'" I asked her.

She snorted. "Ask Bella." She turned to Ben. "I'll sign us out."

He nodded, watching her walk away, and then spoke without looking at me. "You're scared."

"Shitless."

Laughing, he met my gaze. "Good. She'll keep you on your toes, then. Now it's my turn: I have no fucking idea what she sees in your cranky ass."

"Me, either," I said with a chuckle. "I don't know how to handle Seattle, not ___with_ her."

"You're asking me?"

"I'm asking the guy that's been with the same girl since we were fucking fifteen!" I growled, gripping my hair. "Gimme a break, Benny!"

He smiled a little. "Relax, Ed." He studied my face for a minute and took a deep breath. "It's really fucking easy, man. You have to ask yourself if you can live without her. If you can't, then you have your answer. The tough shit that comes with it...that stuff won't matter, because you'll do anything to keep her. ___Anything._ That includes keeping her erased past a secret. Knowing your family, they'll love her, and even if they knew the truth, they'd still accept her. And Emmett's gonna find out; you have to report to him once they're in town."

"I know, but I can't just show up back home with a girlfriend in tow."

He laughed. "No. No, you can't. But you can let enough time pass that when you start bringing her around, the idea won't be so glaringly obvious. You know: 'Here's the girl I met at the bar...or the grocery store...or the bowling alley.'"

"Oh, yeah, and by the way, it's quite possible she'll suddenly have to move away and disappear," I added wryly.

"Oh ho!" he sang. "That's the problem. If she's outed, then she has to start all over someplace else." When I didn't say anything, he placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. "That's the tough shit, Edward, and again, you have to ask yourself if anything else is worth more than keeping her."

My brow furrowed, but I nodded that I'd heard him. "Thanks, Ben," I sighed, shaking his hand, and he pulled me into a rough hug. "Good luck tomorrow, yeah?"

"Easy peasy," he said with a chuckle. "I hope to see you before you leave the city, but if not, Angela and I are thinking about coming home for Christmas."

"That's awesome," I told him with a smile. "Let me know, okay? My parents and Rose will want to see you."

"Definitely," he said, turning toward the side door that lead into the underground garage. "Maybe by then, I'll meet this new girlfriend of yours that I've been hearing about."

"Subtle, Ben. ___Real_ subtle," I snorted, shaking my head and giving them both a wave before they walked away.

As the doors closed behind them, the need to see Bella was almost overwhelming. Instead of taking the elevator, I took the stairs, practically running to get back to her. We'd finally crossed the biggest, hardest part – the girls testifying – and I was really uncertain as to what was next, but being with her now was an easy decision.

******~oOo~**

******A/N #2: I know you guys are DYING for the three magic words, but as you can see, Edward's got his own insecurities. There is that possibility that he can't keep her. The "what ifs" are abundant and scary for both of them, especially while sitting in NY. And before anyone worries about Ben and Angela, don't. Edward trusts them both completely. And Riley is in some serious trouble. :)**

******I'm still behind on reading, yet my list of fics keeps growing. Funny how that works. O_o Anyway, I'll try to get back on track soon.**

******Okay, so one of my fave chapters is posting Sunday. You'll see. ;) So we'll see you ********then... Mooches, Deb :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N #1: Thank you all so, so much for all the support. We love reading your reviews on the site, on FB, and on Twitter. It means the world. And thank you for all your votes for _Coming Home_ on The Lemonade Stand! We were in the Top 5! Yay! Now, this is a huge chapter – and one Deb and I just simply love to pieces...so I'll let you get on with it. See Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 20**

**Bella POV**

_Slope down into the hover position, and hold it for ten deep breaths. One, two, three, four, five..._

"I hate this one," I grumbled. "Kills my forearms."

Alice, who weighed less than I did, laughed. "Just breathe."

When the perky yoga lady finished counting to ten, I knew what was coming and immediately went up into...

_And you'll push up into the downward facing dog position, holding it for the count of ten..._

Yes, downward facing dog. It felt great for my back – stretched the muscles in just the right way or something.

It was the same routine we'd done since the beginning, and I slipped easily from my arched position down to my hands and knees, transitioning to Edward's favorite – the lunge. He wouldn't tell me why he liked it, but the quiet groan from across the room at the dining room table made me laugh quietly.

"You know they're not doing anything but watching us, right?" Alice whispered.

I grinned. "Edward's been cleaning the same piece of his gun every time I glance over," I said with a chuckle. "They're trying to be all smooth about it, aren't they?"

"Sooo unsuccessfully, too," she agreed.

As we switched from one pose to another, I tried to let all my stress and worry out through the calming yoga. Wednesday had come and gone after Alice's testimony in court on Tuesday. Originally, Ben Cheney had been scheduled to testify on Wednesday, but due to some issue with the medical examiner, he and the first police officers on the scene had testified then instead, Santiago had explained on a phone call afterward. They had confirmed time and cause of death and what they had found when entering the office building – including our behavior and states of mind. Because of that, Ben was scheduled to be on the stand today, testifying about my initial ID of Caius Volturi and Felix Guardiano, confirming my story was the same that day as it had been during my testimony. He'd said he would call after court ended for the day, so to take our minds off it all, Alice had pulled out the yoga DVD, which she'd packed in her bag in Forks.

When I switched positions to lie on the floor and twist my torso so my knee was planted on the opposite side of my body, I had a chance to look at Edward, who once again was watching me, the slide of his gun still in his hand.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" I teased, rolling my eyes when he simply shook his head and continued to stare.

Jasper answered, "You ladies should know by now that doin' that—" he waved his hand as he pointed in our direction "—means we get no work done...at all."

Alice winked at me. "Why do you think we do it?"

Both Edward and Jasper groaned audibly when Alice and I slid into the Plough Pose, putting our balance on our shoulders, neck, and upper arms and our legs stretched up until our toes touched the ground behind our heads. I knew the guys liked this one, too, as it was very reminiscent of a position in the _Kama Sutra._

I held the position for the ten breaths, feeling it stretch my spine as I pushed up on my toes. While Yoga Bitch instructed us on how to come out of the pose, I went through the now-familiar movements of tucking my knees toward my head and bringing my back to the floor one vertebrae at a time.

We were breathing and going through the calming end pose, with our legs crossed and arms stretched above our heads, when the phone on the table in front of Edward rang, startling us all.

"Too early for Ben..." Edward picked it up almost warily. "'Lo?" he said into the speaker. He relaxed almost immediately. "Yeah, Al. What's up?"

Al had evidently told him to put it on speaker because Edward pushed a button and then set the phone on the table in front of him, waving us over.

I stood and grabbed our little hand towels from the couch while Alice turned off the TV, and then we both moved over to the table as Al spoke.

"Everyone there?"

"Hi, Al," Alice and I cooed at the same time, grinning when Edward and Jasper rolled their eyes.

"There are the two beautiful ladies," Al said, his voice full of charm. "How are you?"

"We're good," I answered.

Alice hummed her agreement and asked, "How are _you?_"

"I'm well, sweetheart. Thanks for asking, especially since that reprobate that calls me Uncle didn't bother."

Edward sputtered as the rest of us laughed, finally raising an eyebrow and grinning. "So I repeat: What's up?"

"I'm calling with some news," Al told him. He sounded happy and excited, so I wasn't too worried about it being _bad_ news. "Your sister's in the hospital. She went into labor about four hours ago, and her water broke before Emmett could get her to the hospital."

Alice, Jasper, and I grinned, but Edward looked stunned and nervous.

"Is she okay? The baby? She wasn't due for another...eight days," he said in a rush.

"Relax, Ed," Al said in a soothing tone. "She's doing fine. Your dad called and said the doctors weren't concerned at all. The baby's plenty big enough, and anything within two weeks is considered full-term."

Edward still looked worried, but he nodded and said, "Okay. Can we maybe do a Skype call after she has it so I can see her and the baby?" He glanced down the table. "We've got a secure laptop here that Santiago brought up a few days ago."

Al was quiet for a moment. "Ed..." He sighed. "I could set it up, I suppose, but neither of the girls can be seen or heard, especially if you plan to introduce them to the family at some point."

That didn't come as any surprise to me – nor Alice, judging from her calm expression – but Edward looked pained. I knew he'd hate to hide me from his family, but I also knew how much he wanted to see his sister and new niece or nephew.

"That's fine, Edward," I told him, moving around so I was standing behind him. I ran my fingers through his hair, which needed a trim. "We'll stay out of sight."

"It won't bother you?" he asked, looking up at me and then over to Alice. "Either of you?"

I shook my head, and Alice said, "No, not at all."

"Do it, baby," I whispered, leaning down to kiss his forehead when he looked back up at me.

He finally nodded. "Okay, Al. Set it up. Give me a call when it's time."

"You got it, son." He sighed. "I gotta run. Jane's calling on the other phone."

Edward barked a laugh. "Have fun."

"Kiss my ass," Al said grumpily as he hung up the phone.

I laughed. "Who's Jane?"

Edward explained about Al's spoiled, vindictive, air-headed, mean-spirited ex-wife, making us all laugh even more.

"She's something else," Jasper said, nodding. "Keeps Al on his toes."

"Well," I huffed, turning to more pleasant topics. "You should be an uncle soon enough. I think this calls for a celebration, don't you?"

Edward grinned, all thoughts of Jane and the trial clearly gone. "What'cha got in mind, beautiful?"

"No alcohol, so champagne is out," I mused. "Pizza for lunch? Think we could get it delivered?" Being back in New York had me missing the foldable pizza the city was known for.

"Pizza it is," Edward said after Alice and Jasper nodded their agreement.

~oOo~

Edward was a nervous ball of energy after Al's call. After lunch, we tried playing Scrabble, the only board game in the place, but that proved to be difficult when he was having trouble sitting still. Jasper was finally able to get him to play some video games, and that seemed to help. Finally, I suggested poker when he nearly threw the controller through the TV.

We were sitting around the table when the phone rang again. Edward's face lit up, and he eagerly reached for it, nearly punching a hole through the phone with his finger when he hit accept.

"Yeah?" His face fell slightly as he pulled the phone away, shaking his head. Pushing the button for the speaker, he said, "Go ahead, Ben."

"Hey, everyone." When we'd all echoed his greeting, he got to the reason for his call. "Just wanted to give you an update on the trial."

I glanced at the clock. "Wow, you're out early," I mused. "Breaking for a late lunch?" I'd expected him to be on the stand longer than one o'clock.

"No, actually. We're done for the day."

"How's that?" Edward asked. "I expected you to be there till at least three."

"Me, too," Ben agreed. "The OCCB detective will most likely have more to say than I did, so the judge called it an early day and said the trial would pick back up bright and early in the morning."

Edward nodded thoughtfully. "How'd it go, man?"

Ben sounded confident when he answered, "It went fine – just like I knew it would. The defense tried to hammer on the photo lineup I gave Marie at the scene and then later Mary, but it was a textbook lineup. They had no way in to break it. I used different sets of pictures, different placements, and both girls were separated when I showed them. Volturi's lawyers were scrambling and getting nowhere."

"Great, man. Thanks for letting us know." Edward squeezed my hand when I visibly relaxed. "Anything else?"

"I'll call you again tomorrow with an update. Now that I'm finished testifying, I'm gonna sit in tomorrow while Wilkes is on the stand."

We all echoed our thanks, and then Edward took the phone off speaker, telling Ben about Rose. He laughed at whatever Ben replied with, said, "Will do. Thanks," and then hung up the phone.

"What was so funny about Rose havin' her baby?" Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow.

Edward chuckled, shaking his head. "He said to tell Emmett he hopes the baby's a girl and looks like Rose 'cause it'll be fun watching him try to protect a pretty little girl from all the big bad wolves."

We all laughed at that. From the picture I'd seen of Edward's family, I knew his brother-in-law was a big man, and being a police detective, he carried a gun, so the image of the guy standing on the porch with his arms crossed and service weapon in one hand was funny and probably not too far off the mark.

"All right, son," Jasper drawled, tossing the deck of cards Edward's way. "Your turn to shuffle and deal."

~oOo~

The beep from the intercom by the door startled us all. We'd been lying around the living room – Edward and me on one end of the couch, Alice on the other as she ran her fingers through Jasper's hair while he sat in front of her on the floor.

"It's nine fucking p.m.," Edward growled. "What the fuck could that be about?"

I paused the movie and then sat up so he could slide out from behind me.

Edward stalked over to the intercom, pushed the button, and asked, "Yeah?"

It was a male voice this time, one I didn't recognize. "Sir, I've got the District Attorney here, and he'd like to meet with the witnesses. He apologizes for the late hour, but he said it's important."

Alice and I looked at each other, suddenly frightened. Jasper stood, arms crossed as he listened.

"Dammit," Edward cursed. "Okay, MacEntire... Double check his ID—"

"I know him, sir," the marshal – MacEntire – interrupted. "It's hi—"

"Did I ask if you know him?" Edward snapped.

"No, sir."

Raking his hand through his hair, Edward continued, "Double check his ID and then escort him up to the same apartment we used last time."

"Yes, sir." There was a pause, and then the marshal asked, "Should I tell him when to expect you?"

"No. We'll be there when we get there," Edward huffed, turning the intercom back off and moving back to us.

"Why do you think he's here?" I asked, walking into Edward's arms when he held them open for me.

I felt him shrug as he held me. "I'm sure everything's fine, but no way to know until we get down there. Let's get dressed, and then we'll see."

I shrugged and grumbled, "I don't care if he's the D.A. or the Pope. I'm comfortable in my sleep pants and T-shirt. I'm not getting re-dressed just to go meet with him."

Edward chuckled. "In the vest, baby. That's all. I'm sure it's safe, but I'm not taking any chances."

Oh, that made sense. "Right. Gotcha."

"I'll call Iverson to come upstairs while you help the girls," Jasper said, moving to the intercom to call downstairs.

Tim had been staying in an empty apartment on one of the lower floors while the trial was going on, so I knew he would be up soon.

We hurried and put on the vests, not bothering to place them under our clothes this time. Edward and Jasper were strapping theirs on when Tim's signature knock sounded. Alice and I stayed around the corner until the guys gave us the okay, and then we left the apartment, saying a quiet hello to our cute escort, who looked like he'd been relaxing just like we had been.

"I called Santiago," Tim said as he led us down the two flights of stairs. "He's meeting us at the room to make sure it was secure before we got there."

"Thanks," Edward told him, their voices echoing in the stairwell.

When we stepped out into the hall on the tenth floor, Santiago was standing beside the closed door with two other marshals. He gave us a friendly smile and clapped Jasper's shoulder before opening the door. "I'll wait out here with Iverson," he said, pulling the door shut as soon as Edward and I finished filing through.

Mr. Banner stood from his seat at the table and smiled. "Thanks for meeting me."

Edward nearly ignored his outstretched hand, but then quickly shook it before pulling out seats for Alice and me. "What's this about?"

Mr. Banner sat again, tapping his finger on a sealed envelope in front of him. "I can't go into any details," he said, looking at Alice and me specifically, "but I would like to get some closed-circuit television set up so you two—" he nodded up at Edward and Jasper, who were standing back a few feet behind us "—so all of you can watch the trial tomorrow."

"Why?" Alice asked, looking confused. "Isn't it just the Organized Crime detective?"

Shaking his head, the D.A. said, "Plans have changed. I wish I could tell you exactly what's going on, but I can't. I think it's something you're going to want to watch, though."

"How would it work?" Edward asked. "We're not set up for that at the moment, and it's already—" he checked his watch "—nine thirty on Thursday night."

Picking up the envelope, Mr. Banner held it out to Edward, who stepped forward and took it from him. "Mr. Santiago assured me you had access to a secure laptop. Those," he said, "are the instructions to connect to the closed-circuit connection for the courtroom." When Edward just grunted, Mr. Banner said, "The day will start promptly at nine a.m., so you should be set up in front of the computer by ten till." He looked at his watch. "I've got to run. I have a few more hours prep-time tonight before I get some sleep."

We said our goodbyes, and then the D.A. and his two escorts went one way while we went the other with Tim and Santiago.

It was a quiet walk back up to the apartment, all of us tired and more than a little curious about what the next day would bring.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

Breathing steadily, my feet pounded on the treadmill downstairs in the gym of the apartment building. I'd barely gotten any sleep, practically driven everyone crazy, and almost smoked a half a pack of cigarettes the night before. My worry for Rose was making me insane – and unbearable. Not a single one of them judged me on it; they merely coddled me. The girls tried to tell me that babies were born every day, that labor sometimes took _days_, and that if something had gone wrong, we'd have already heard about it.

I'd argued petulantly that babies weren't born in _my family_ every day. They'd simply chuckled, kissed my head, and handed me another slice of pizza. What I'd wanted was a damn drink. A strong one.

Finally, this morning, they'd had enough of my pacing and snapping, not only over my sister but over the upcoming part of the trial, too. The stress was almost overwhelming. So Jasper had arranged for me to run off my excess energy.

The machine transitioned into a higher pitch, my thighs burning with the way I was pushing myself, but I needed it. I needed the focus that running always gave me. After a few minutes, the treadmill leveled back out and then slowed into a cool-down pace. I glanced around the gym, shaking my head at the fact that even this place was high-end, decadent, and catered to the spoiled residents of the building.

I wasn't alone. There was an older woman on a stationary bike, keeping a slow but steady pace, a man about my age doing reps with the weights off in the corner, and the cougar on the next treadmill over that had eye-fucked me to death from the second I'd stepped into the gym – even more when I'd stripped my shirt off and started stretching for my run. She was bottle-blonde and enhanced surgically in just about every way imaginable, but it wasn't as frightening as some I'd seen. Whoever her plastic surgeon was probably made a pretty penny. My breathing calmed and I grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from my face as I hid my eye roll. The cougar continued to watch me, shooting a wink my way. She seemed like she wore the title of MILF with fucking pride, despite the gigantic rock on her left hand.

I gave her a smile, thinking there had been a time in my life that I would've eaten that shit up simply for the attention, but not here. And not when I had Bella upstairs.

I pulled my T-shirt back on, tossed my towel over my shoulder, and grabbed the cell phone that hadn't been two feet away from me for the last twelve hours, to head back up to the apartment. No calls. Not even a text.

The apartment was quiet when I walked in, so I headed straight for the fridge to grab a water. When I stepped into the living room, I saw Bella quietly reading on her Kindle, and she smiled at the sight of me. She was in my USMS shirt, some soft blue plaid pajama bottoms, and her hair was in some messy, twisted knot.

"Come here," she said.

"I need a shower, beautiful," I sighed, but I did as she asked.

"Don't care. Get over here." She opened her arms for me, and I practically fell into them, grinning when she grunted under my weight. She dropped a kiss to my forehead as I rested my ear over her heart. "Everything will be okay, Edward."

"I'm sorry I've been an asshole," I muttered into her neck, unable not to kiss her, nuzzle her. Fuck, she always smelled so damn good – like flowers and something that calmed me completely.

She giggled, shaking us both, and the sound echoed through her chest. It wrapped around me like her arms and legs were and made me smile.

"You're not an asshole, baby. You're a guy worried about his sister. That's perfectly okay because you're so far from them." Her voice was calm, and her fingers ran through my hair, despite the fact that it was all sweaty.

"That's probably a good fucking thing. I'd have been kicked out of the hospital by now," I snorted, grinning when she laughed softly, but I braced my hands on either side of her head to stare down at her.

"Or you'd have driven the nurses crazy," she teased, cupping my face when I rolled my eyes. "How was your run?"

"Brutal," I groaned, pressing a kiss to her lips before sitting up completely.

I opened my mouth to beg her to join me in the shower, but the cell phone chirped in my pocket, causing both of us to flinch. I fumbled with it, staring down at a text message that said, "Skype. Fifteen minutes. Screen-name: UncleAl#1."

I shook my head at the pompous screen-name that only Al would've thought to create, but shot Bella a panicked look.

She smiled, standing up and tugging me up with her. "Relax. In fact, fifteen minutes gives you time to shower. Go!" She smacked my ass, which made me raise an eyebrow at her. "Pervert. Go!" She snorted, shaking her head.

I hadn't showered that fast since I was running late for class in high school. By the time I was clean and dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, Jasper had set up the computer at the dining room table. He glanced up at me with a crooked grin.

"You ready, _Uncle_ Edward?" he asked teasingly, causing the girls to coo softly from their hidden spots at the kitchen counter.

Smiling and swallowing nervously, I nodded and fell down in front of the computer next to him. He'd already pulled up Skype, entered Al's screen-name, and was about to hit connect. The laptop screen filled with Uncle Al's face, grinning like a fool.

"Do you miss me?" he asked, which caused Jasper to chuckle.

"Al, I swear to God... One day, I'm punching the shit out of you," I warned him, but he merely laughed.

"You _do_ miss me, you old cranky thing," he sang. "Okay, okay... Here. There's someone you need to meet." He shifted the computer around so that I was face to face with my sister.

"There's your Uncle Edward. Oh, and Uncle Jasper, too," Rose whispered, looking wrecked and exhausted and so very happy. But it was the sleepy little bundle of pink she was kissing in her arms that made my breathing stop. "Boys, meet Emma Rose McCarty."

"A girl," I whispered in awe, grinning when Rose chuckled.

"She's beautiful, Rosie," Jasper drawled, shaking his head.

Rose sighed and nodded. "She's gorgeous, but she's a fighter. I didn't think she'd ever come out!" she growled softly but pressed more kisses to the baby's head. She paused and seemed to take in the whole screen. "I've missed you guys. You're being careful? You're okay?"

Jasper and I both nodded, but I could barely take my eyes off the now widely yawning baby...Emma. She was tiny and wrinkled and red, but she was almost my sister made over because her hair was a fine tuft of blonde curls just a shade darker than Rose's. Her yawn, though, showed off a matching set of her dad's dimples. She was an amazing blend of her parents.

"Yeah, we're fine. It's been...crazy," I told her, shrugging a bit, "but we're hoping to be home soon." I looked over the top of the computer to see Bella watching me with a small, sweet smile. I turned back to my sister. "I'm sorry we weren't there," I said, smiling when her brow furrowed a bit.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "It's fine. You probably would've been booted from the hospital, Edward. I know you."

I laughed. "That's what I said!"

"How's Emmett dealing with daddy-hood?" Jasper asked with a laugh.

Rose glanced off the camera, and Emmett's large form appeared in the screen as he tried to squeeze in next to my sister on that tiny hospital bed. He grinned like the proud papa he was.

"My girls are beautiful, right?" he asked with a booming voice. We all laughed when Rose elbowed him as best she could while holding Emma. "Oops, my bad," he whispered dramatically, turning back to us. "It's boring as shit without you guys around. You kickin' ass and takin' names, or what?"

"You know I can't tell you anything, Em," I warned him. "We're hoping it's over soon. That's all I can say. Though, I have a feeling Uncle Al's been keeping you posted."

"Just that you're safe. That's all he can tell us," Rose countered. "But that's good enough, I guess." She looked down at a squirming Emma and then back to me. "You owe me, brother! I told you it was a girl!"

Grinning, I shrugged. "Aw, hell, Rose. I was just teasing. You know I didn't care."

"Nope. As soon as you're back, you're totally taking babysitting duty as payment for losing," she told me.

I felt the color drain from my face as I gripped my damp hair, and everyone – including Bella and Alice – burst into laughter. The girls kept their smothered behind their hands since they knew they had to stay quiet.

"Seriously? I'll break her or something! She's too small!" I argued, probably sounding like I had as a kid. "I won't know what I'm doing."

"If you can hunt down criminals, you can learn to change a diaper," Emmett said with a sheepish expression. "At least, that's what your mom told me," he muttered, looking like he'd heard that more than once.

Jasper and I cracked up, but I looked to Rose again.

"How are Mom and Dad?" I asked her.

Rose smiled. "They're going crazy that their baby boy has been gone so long. It takes all Al has for them to not hunt you down. And you'd better stay on this computer until they get here."

"They should be here," Emmett said, kissing the top of Rose's and then Emma's head before getting up. "Rose and Emma are getting released today, so they're helping get us all settled. I'll go look."

He left the screen, but I couldn't help but ask Rose, "So soon? So you're okay? Emma's okay?"

"I feel rode hard and put away wet, but we're both fine," she cooed, looking down at the squirming bundle. "We'll be glad to get home, won't we, Emma?" she sang softly.

The hard-nosed, hormone-riddled woman I'd left was gone, and in her place was the mother she'd always wanted to be. It made me smile. I was happy for her. When she and Emmett had first started dating, talk of having kids was almost immediate. Little Emma was their dream come true.

"I wanna see her up close, Rosie," I said, smiling when my sister reached out and pulled the computer closer, making me assume that Al must have set it on the bed tray. Baby Emma loomed closer, all red and squirming and grumbling. "She's so pink. Is that normal?"

"Yes, you dork," my sister answered with a laugh. "She's been bathed and her skin is sensitive!"

Jasper snorted and shook his head slowly, giving Bella and Alice, who were in silent hysterics, an amused grin.

"Well, she looks like a ladybug, she's so red and small," I argued, forgetting who was listening and focusing on the constant light bickering that Rose and I had always done. It felt comfortable, and I'd missed the hell out of it. "Hey, Ladybug," I called softly to my brand new niece. "You take care of your mom till I get home, yeah? Then I'll teach you exactly what drives her crazy. We'll start with her closet first. Shoes should not be in alphabetical order!"

"Edward Cullen!" Rose snapped.

"What?!" I chuckled, shrugging my shoulders.

Emmett appeared back in front of the screen, only to push the tray farther back. My heart hurt at the sight of my parents stepping into the frame. Homesickness flooded me. I missed Sunday lunches, my mother fawning over me, and both of them giving me shit about my smoking and my ink and my lifestyle. My eyes drifted over to Bella and then back to my parents. I wanted so badly to introduce her, and it was killing me that I couldn't. My dad looked proud and happy and curious. My mother, on the other hand, was a teary mess.

"Oh, Mom, don't cry," I groaned, rubbing my face and then gripping my hair. "I fucking hate it when you cry!"

"I know, I'm sorry," she sniffled, but she was smiling at the same time. "It's happy tears, sweetheart. We miss you. You're safe?"

"I'm fine. I promise."

Jasper gave my shoulder a squeeze, looking at the screen. "I'm glad everyone's doing well. Congrats, Em, Rose. She's a beauty. I'll let you have Edward, okay?" he asked before standing up, and everyone on the other end told him goodbye and that they were glad they got to see him.

I leaned on my elbows, taking in my family that was one more stronger.

"Son, it's good to see you. You look good," my dad said. "I've been stopping by your house for you, just to check on things," he stated firmly with a nod.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Thanks, Dad."

"Mmhmm," he hummed, glancing at Emma. "You were wrong. It was a girl," he taunted, giving me a wink.

"I see that. We need shotguns," I snorted, shaking my head.

"No shit, bro!" Emmett growled. "I've already ordered them. Should be in soon."

I chuckled, reaching over on the keyboard to take a screenshot of my family. I didn't give a fuck if I was allowed or not. I needed it, and I wanted to show off my new Ladybug to Bella.

"There's something...different about you," Mom mused aloud, her eyes narrowing. "You're eating okay? Getting enough sleep?" she asked.

It took all I had to ignore poor Bella's choking in the background, but I smirked at my mother, thinking that occasionally I did more than sleep. "I'm eating _and_ sleeping. Stop worrying, Mom."

I frowned when Al popped into the frame, because I knew what that shit meant.

"I'm sorry, Ed, but I know there's something you need to get ready for," he said cryptically.

I groaned, glancing up at the clock. "Fuck. Yeah. Is there anything you don't know, you meddling old fart?" I asked him, grinning and folding my arms across my chest as my family laughed.

"I know more than I should...and more than I want to," he sang with a fucking cheesy-ass grin. "You'd do well to remember that."

My eyes flickered to Bella but then back to the screen. I nodded, smirking at my uncle. "That's true. You do. But thanks for this," I told him sincerely.

"You're welcome, kid. I'll see you 'round," he said with a grin and a wink, reminding me that he'd meet us back in Forks before we finally went home.

"Bye, son. Come home soon, okay?" Dad requested, squeezing my mom's hand.

"We love you. Stay safe," Mom whispered, her tears starting again.

"Love you," I murmured, and then I looked at my sister's little family. "Way to go, guys. The Ladybug is... You did really good." Once they all waved, blew kisses, and said goodbye, I ended the video chat. Looking up at the girls, I waved them over. "All clear. Come here."

The girls walked over, and Alice took Jasper's vacated seat with him behind her while I pulled Bella to my lap. "Meet my new niece," I said, zooming in on Emma's chubby face in the screenshot I'd taken.

"Oh my _goodness_!" Alice squealed. "She's so cute!"

"Oh, she's beautiful, Edward – or should I say, _Uncle_ Edward?" Bella asked, turning to grin at me.

"Damn, she's already got him hook, line, and sinker," Jasper taunted with a laugh. "Look at that shit."

Bella giggled, grabbing either side of my face as I tried to give Jasper a go-to-hell glare. "You're gonna spoil her rotten, aren't you?"

I smiled and shrugged. "All I can. It's revenge for all the torture her mother put me through," I told her, kissing her lips.

Jasper sat down, grabbed the packet that Banner had given us, and started to type.

I looked to Bella, whispering, "I'm sorry you had to hide."

"I'm not," she countered with a shake of her head. "It's what has to happen for now. When we get to Seattle and you still want me to meet them, then I will."

Something in her voice sounded unsure about that, and I realized we were both worried about the future, but before I could argue, Jasper piped up, turning the computer around.

"Here we go," he murmured, glancing up at the clock. "Logged on early, just like Banner asked."

The computer screen was divided into four different shots of the courtroom I'd stood in while Bella testified. It was a jumble of activity since court wasn't in session yet. The audio merely sounded like murmurs and static as people took their seats, the prosecution set out all their things, and the court employees settled themselves behind computers and steno machines.

I made to shift Bella to the empty chair next to me, but she gripped my hand. Glancing up at her face, I saw worry and fear. Despite the fact that Banner had seemed...hopeful, for a lack of a better term, when he'd given us the instructions, the girls were still damned nervous.

"Okay," I simply whispered against her cheek, pulling her back to my chest and setting my chin on her shoulder. "Relax, Bella," I soothed in her ear, feeling her entire body slowly settle back into mine.

It was pretty boring shit for the next ten minutes or so, except for the brief moment of hatred that ran through me as Volturi, Felix, and the defense team walked into the courtroom. Caius, who had looked like he owned the fucking world when I'd seen him in person, now looked solemn and angry. Though, he still seemed to carry an untouchable air about him, which made me fucking sick. It was like he knew he could still run the family from behind bars, or that he still had a chance of going free. And it was that last thought that scared me.

I rubbed the top of Bella's thigh slowly, soothingly, as we waited for Judge Afton to make his way to the bench and put on his glasses. He tapped the gavel, calling the court to order and for the jury to be let in.

"I still don't know why Banner wants us to watch the OCCB guy testify," Jasper muttered, but he shut up when Alice shushed at him.

"Mr. Banner, you may call your first witness of the day," the judge ordered, gesturing toward the prosecution table.

Banner stood, legal notepad in hand, and said, "The prosecution calls to the stand...Felix Guardiano."

"Oh hell," Jasper and I said at the same time.

We looked to each other, knowing sure as shit that Banner had finally made a deal with Felix. This was huge – and took some serious fucking balls.

The courtroom erupted into a din of noise, causing the judge to rap hard on his bench with his gavel. "Order! Order!"

"You traitorous bastard!" Caius exploded, standing up despite the lawyers that were tugging on him.

Felix barely reacted as he strolled to the witness box, taking a seat. His eyes were on Banner, and Banner only. I had to give him credit; he was cool as a cucumber.

"Goldman, control your client, or I'll be forced to charge him with contempt!" Afton snapped, banging the gavel three more times. "Mr. Volturi, sit down or I'll have you removed from this courtroom."

Caius sat down, and if I thought the look he'd shot Bella while she was on the stand was evil, it was fucking _nothing_ compared to the one that he was giving Felix – someone he'd _thought _was his right-hand man. If Felix cut a deal with the D.A., then he was about to sign his death warrant, or be shipped off to another state to become someone else completely.

It took a few more raps of the judge's gavel and some shuffling before the courtroom settled down. Once Felix was sworn in, Banner looked like the cat that ate the canary as he shifted to the side of the podium, inching as close as he could without actually approaching the witness stand.

"Mr. Guardiano, would you explain to the court who you work for," he said, setting the notepad down in front of Felix.

"Caius Volturi," Felix answered in a gruff voice. "Technically, I work for Volturi Construction."

"And the night of Eleazar Denali's murder, where did you tell police that you were?" Banner asked, pacing slowly back and forth.

"I told them that Caius and I were at a job site in Brooklyn."

"And is that true?"

"No."

A few more grumbles echoed around the courtroom, and the judge let it slide.

"No, you weren't," Banner agreed. "Would you tell us where you _really_ were that night?"

"I _was_ with Caius...at Denali and Associates," he stated.

"You petulant piece of shit! You're dead, Felix!" Caius erupted, causing a whole new round of tapping from the judge – hell, he was hitting the desktop so hard, I thought he'd break the fucking gavel. "Just you wait!" he threatened, falling back down into his chair when Goldman forced him hard. "After all I've done for you," he sneered.

"I'm not doing life for you, motherfucker," Felix finally cracked, pointing a finger to Caius, though Banner stepped in front of him. "I said to hire it out, but you didn't listen. You just had to do it anyway. The asshole had been skimming for years!"

Goldman objected, Banner calmed Felix down, and Judge Afton called the court to order over and over. It was fucking chaos, but it was the best news yet. A lull took over the court as the two lawyers were called to the bench a sidebar.

"Well, wait. I mean... What's that mean?" Bella asked, turning sideways in my lap. "And why are you smiling?"

I chuckled, cupping her face. "It means Felix cut a deal. It means there is now a whole lot less fucking pressure on you two."

Jasper nodded enthusiastically. "Abso-fucking-lutely. Now they'll hunt for Felix before they hunt for anyone. If Caius's brother, Marcus, takes over the family and seeks revenge, they'll go for the traitor first. Felix just set himself in front of you two as a shield."

"So..." Alice started, looking around at all of us. "So Felix is in Witness Security now, too?"

"Looks that way," I said with a nod. "They probably used him for more than just this charge. They're most likely using him to stack a bunch of shit against Volturi."

"And in return, he'll do less time under a new identity in another state. It's happened before," Jasper concluded. "That took big balls."

"No shit," I agreed, looking up at Bella. "You're still a target...but you're now much, much lower on the list. The likelihood of them using men and resources to find you is almost nonexistent."

"Especially since you're moving across the damn country," Jasper added. "They'll have no idea where to even start. With Felix, they'll start with the prison system."

"Really?" Bella whispered, her eyes sweet and warm and only on me. When I nodded, she practically collapsed with relief. "So this was a good thing?"

I grinned, kissing her lips softly. "Oh, yeah, baby. A _really _good thing."

We all turned back to the computer when court picked back up, but Felix had been dismissed and led out of the courtroom.

I could've fucking sworn on a stack of Bibles that Banner shot a quick glance up to the camera before saying, "The prosecution...rests."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: So Felix turned on Caius, and the prosecution has rested. There's still the defense left to go. The trial isn't over. So hang in there. That's up next.**

**Heeheeee... Ladybug. Yeah, _Uncle Edward_ is pretty damn cute, I have to say...all grumpy and worried until he saw her. :) You can see two pictures we have for this chapter up on Jenny's site & my blog. Links are on our profile. :)**

**No fic recs yet, but I have been slowly adding to my downloadable PDFs of my own personal stuff. They're already up on my blog, and you can find the link on this profile. :)**

**Okay, so we'll see you again on Wednesday so you can see what the defense has to say. :/ Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N #1: Thank you for all the love! It's hard for you to imagine (especially if you aren't a FF writer yourself) just how much the support means to us both. Deb and I cherish every review. :) Couple of things before you read on: So many of you thought the trial ended with the end of the last chapter, but no...that was just the end of the _prosecution's_ side of things. The defense still has to give their case, then there has to be closing arguments, etc. Also, this story is 34 chapters, including an epilogue, so still plenty of story to go. ;) Now, on to the defense's half of the trial. See Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jenny**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 21**

**Bella POV**

It was hard to believe the prosecution had finished with its half of the trial, but two hours before, it'd done just that. My mind was all over the place – worried about what the defense might have up its sleeves, about whether or not Volturi would somehow weasel out of what seemed to me to be a clear guilty verdict, and about what would happen when the trial was finally over and we made the move to Seattle.

Edward was in the bedroom sleeping. As soon as the prosecution rested, it was like almost all the tension of the last twenty-four hours flowed out of him, leaving him looking happy, but exhausted. I knew he hadn't slept well the night before, as worried as he'd been about Rose and why the D.A. had wanted us to watch the trial. We'd all stayed around the computer for a few minutes, even after Jasper shut it off, talking about the impact of Felix's testimony, and then Edward had excused himself, heading back to the bathroom. When he hadn't come back in over fifteen minutes, I'd gone looking for him. Poor thing had gone into the bedroom, stripped off his shirt and jeans, and fallen asleep on the bed in his boxer briefs, not even bothering to get under the covers. He'd looked so peaceful, I hadn't had the heart to wake him.

I was flipping through channels on the TV, unable to find anything that really kept my interest, so when Alice called, "B, c'mere," from her seat at the kitchen table, I willingly turned off the television and made my way to the seat beside her.

"What's up?"

"Check this out!" she squealed quietly. We were both keeping our voices low so as not to disturb Edward.

When she turned the laptop slightly, I saw the most adorable ladybug-themed baby clothes that made my heart absolutely melt.

"You found ladybugs," I sighed, unable to not smile. "How freakin' adorable was he this morning?" I asked her, remembering Edward's face the moment he set eyes on his new niece. If I hadn't already been in love with him – something I was just now finally admitting to myself – that would have sealed the deal for me. When he called her Ladybug, I thought my ovaries were absolutely going to burst. It was the sweetest, sexiest thing, watching his reaction to the newborn baby girl. He'd looked so happy, so relieved, and so proud, and love had radiated from every pore.

"I know, right?" Alice asked, clicking through a few more things on the site. "Oooh, check this one out."

The one-piece footed sleeper Alice had enlarged was a soft pink, with darker pink accents around the end of the arms and the neck, dark little bows on the top of the feet, and little ladybugs all over it. Plus, it was Carter's, so I knew it was good quality.

"Let me grab a pen and paper," I said quickly. "I want to be able to buy these later..."

Once back at the table, I jotted down the item name and store, and then Alice began flipping through more.

"Oh, wait... Go back," I told her when she passed one I wanted to see.

When she backed up a page, I saw that it was another Carter's set. This one had four pieces, including white footed pajamas with red ladybugs on it, a red and white striped onesie with a single bigger ladybug on the chest, a pair of matching red footed pants that had a smiling ladybug on the top of the feet, and an adorable red knit hat with big black dots and two black "antennae" sticking out the top.

Alice oohed and ahhed over it as I wrote down the information.

By the time we finished, our list included a footed romper in a ladybug design, another onesie with a cap and matching socks, some adorable tights, a sweet pair of red ladybugs and hearts booties, and another knit cap – this one white with a green trim and ladybugs on the brim.

"I can't wait to go shopping for those," I said with sigh as I folded the paper.

"Go shopping for what?" Jasper asked, coming from the kitchen with a bottle of water. He'd been playing video games and had apparently taken a break while I wasn't looking.

Alice grinned and turned the computer back to her so he could see over her shoulder.

Chuckling, Jasper said, "Uncle Edward'll love those."

_Uncle Edward._ My heart pitter-patted, and I decided I couldn't stay away any longer.

"I'm going to go check on Edward," I said, standing and grabbing the paper with the list of baby clothes.

Back in the bedroom, I slid carefully onto the bed, trying to not wake him. He stirred, shifting slightly, but his eyes stayed closed.

Edward was on his stomach, one arm under the pillow, the other hand tucked under his cheek. I took a minute to just look at his face. He looked so peaceful, like he hadn't a care in the world. He rarely looked that unburdened when awake. Whether it was worry over his job and taking care of Alice and me, or worry about his sister, he always seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was always sexy, but there was something so beautiful about him at the moment. His dark eyelashes were long, resting against his cheek, and his lips were parted slightly, his breath puffing out over the pillow in front of him.

From there, my gaze traveled down his body. He was lean, all muscle without being bulky, like a swimmer or runner rather than a football player. Underneath his black boxer briefs, I knew even his ass was solid, a beautifully rounded curve that led to his long legs. His legs were one of my favorite parts of his body. They were strong, and when he ran or worked out, the muscles of his calves and thighs flexed with every movement. It was enough to make my heart sputter.

I couldn't see the tattoos on his right arm, but the one on his back stood out in stark relief against his skin, all black and green ink. I knew what the tattoo represented, and once again, I had to hold back my hatred of the woman who had prompted such an action. Even after Mike, I couldn't imagine what Edward had gone through. I knew he was gun-shy about relationships, and that's why I'd tried like hell to push what I was feeling for him so down deep inside that it wouldn't accidentally come bubbling to the surface.

I reached out, suddenly needing to touch him. As I traced the green lines of ink representing life, death, and rebirth, I thought about what I'd finally admitted to myself just since being back in New York. I had fallen in love with Edward Cullen – unconditionally and irrevocably. The thought scared me and thrilled me at once. No matter what happened from here on out, he had changed my life. He'd made me believe in myself again, had made me realize Mike hadn't broken me.

Just as I started tracing the black ink jutting out like blades around the green, Edward stirred beneath my finger.

"Mm, baby?" he mumbled, reaching out for me.

"Shh," I whispered as I snuggled into his embrace. "Sleep, okay?"

He nodded, tucked his face into the crook of my neck, and was breathing deeply again before I could even close my eyes.

~oOo~

I shuffled into the kitchen in my socks, rubbing my eyes as I yawned. I hadn't fully woken up yet, and I needed to be awake before the trial started, so I headed for the coffee maker, even though I normally stayed away from it.

Edward and I had slept for a few more hours Friday, waking up just after lunch. Alice and Jasper had ordered in Thai food, so we had heated it up and then lazed around in the living room with them, watching TV as a group while Edward and I ate. Most of the day Friday and through the weekend was spent in just such a fashion. Television and movies, light-hearted, easy fun. The hard part of the trial was over for us. The prosecution's case had gone perfectly – especially with the addition of Felix's testimony – so we'd been able to relax and not worry as much as we had been.

"Morning," I mumbled to Alice and Edward, who were in the kitchen.

Alice chirped a good morning from her spot on the counter while Edward handed me a mug of steaming coffee, perfectly lightened with milk, and gave me kiss on the forehead.

"Hey, baby," he said, holding me close as I sipped the coffee, which was still bitter, even though he'd added plenty of sugar.

I grimaced but took another sip anyway, letting the caffeine do its job of fully waking me up.

"Okay, Ed, it's all set up," Jasper said as he came into the kitchen. He smiled, ruffling my hair as he passed. "Mornin', darlin'."

Sunday evening, Santiago had come upstairs and said Banner had called and asked him to relay a message. The closed-circuit feed would still be available to us if we wanted to continue watching the end of the trial. He'd handed Jasper a cable and said if we wanted to watch it on the bigger screen, we could use it.

Edward glanced at the clock. "Ten till. Let's get the feed pulled up and settle in."

The four of us carried our coffees and took our seats around the television. Edward sat on one end of the bigger sofa, propping his feet on the low table in front of him, beside his coffee cup. I set my own cup beside his, and he patted the seat beside him. Once I was down, he pulled me around so my legs were draped over his. Alice and Jasper took the other end, with my sister beside me, her legs curled up under her.

Like Friday, the courtroom was a low buzz of activity for a few minutes as attorneys, the court reporter, and the audience filtered in, and then everything got louder for a moment before quieting when Caius Volturi was led in, looking like a dark storm cloud had permanently settled over his head, shadowing his features and giving him an unending scowl.

The courtroom then fell silent as the judge took his seat on the bench. He called the proceedings to order, reminded the entire room of the rules, and then asked the bailiff to bring in the jury.

Once everyone was in place, he said, "Mr. Goldman, you may call your first witness."

The defense attorney stood, buttoned his suit coat, and said, "The defense calls Jacob Black to the stand."

I froze, suddenly wishing we had decided to _not_ watch today's part of the trial.

Edward rubbed my leg through my sleep pants and tilted his head, murmuring, "It'll be okay, baby."

Nodding, I kept my eyes on the screen, almost afraid to look away.

After Jacob was sworn in, the attorney went through the generalities of his name and where he worked. Then he said, "And Mr. Black, you were working the night of May eleven of this year, correct?"

"Yes, sir. From eight o'clock until closing."

"And did you see Marie and Mary Brandon there that night?"

Jacob nodded. "They came in just before nine."

"What did they do when they came in?" Mr. Goldman asked, sounding very casual.

Smirking, Jacob said, "They ordered a drink from me at the bar, and Marie began flirting with me while her sister looked around at the crowd."

The attorney continued to ask him things like how much we had to drink – and whether he'd seen us with anything harder than the two beers and a shot – and how...friendly I'd been with him, until Mr. Banner objected on the grounds of relevance.

"Goes to the state of the mind of the witness, Your Honor," Mr. Goldman said confidently.

Judge Afton nodded after a moment, but then warned with a raised eyebrow, "You're on a short leash with this line of questioning, counselor."

The attorney nodded once and then turned back to Jacob as Mr. Banner sat back in his seat. He repeated his last question.

"Yeah, sure," Jacob answered. "She was all over me from the moment she sat down at the bar. I could tell she wanted to f—" Mr. Goldman cleared his throat, and Jacob immediately changed what he'd been about to say "—to be with me," he finished.

Through back and forth between the attorney and Jacob, he told the story of asking me to dance, getting us both hot and bothered, before he'd taken me to the back room of the bar.

"And what happened when you got into the private room?" Mr. Goldman asked.

"Objection!" Mr. Banner called. "Relevance?"

"Please, Your Honor," Mr. Goldman said humbly. "My reasons for this line of questioning will soon become apparent."

I bit my lower lip so hard, I tasted blood. I didn't want to relive what I'd done with Jacob that night, nor did I want it thrown in Edward's face. The man himself rubbed my arm with one hand and reached up to pull my lip free, brushing away the spot of blood with his thumb.

"Careful," he muttered low, squeezing me close. "I like those lips. Don't want to damage them more than you already have."

In the courtroom, Jacob had obviously been coached, because he answered the question of what had transpired in the back room without going into too many gory details, until Mr. Goldman paused and then asked a question that made Jacob smirk.

"At any point during your...liaison with Ms. Brandon, did she hit her head?"

"Objection!" Mr. Banner cried immediately, getting to his feet. "The court doesn't need to hear details of the sexual encounter between this witness and Ms. Brandon."

"Your Honor," Mr. Goldman said smoothly, "this will go toward showing whether or not Ms. Brandon was operating at full mental capacity when she identified Mr. Volturi a few minutes after her encounter with Mr. Black. By her own words and those of her sister, Ms. Brandon...drifted from her surroundings mentally several times on the way from the bar to the building in which she worked. If—"

The judge frowned but nodded, interrupting him. "All right. Again, a short leash, Mr. Goldman."

"Wait, what's that mean?" Alice asked, her voice tight. "Bella was fine after leaving the bar. She was just lost in her thoughts. She didn't pass out or anything."

Jasper explained quietly that the defense was fishing as Mr. Banner sat down in his seat, his features giving nothing away about how he was feeling, while the defense attorney turned back to give Jacob a nod.

"Go on, Mr. Black," he said. "Did Ms. Brandon hit her head while with you in the back room of the bar?"

I sat numbly as Jacob spoke again.

"Yeah, she did." When the attorney made a motion with his hand, he continued. "When I was...uh, doing it hard like she wanted, she hit her head a few times on the door behind her."

I could feel Edward tense beside me, although his hand on my arm never stopped moving slowly up and down my skin.

"Was she injured?" the attorney asked, sounding – obviously falsely – concerned.

Jacob smirked. "I was worried she'd hurt her head, but she seemed to have enjoyed it. She didn't mention it hurting, although she did rub the back of it and shake her head once as she was getting her clothes back on."

Shame and embarrassment flooded me, not for my actions that night, really, but that my sexual past was getting thrown in Edward's face so blatantly. I hoped the floor would open up and swallow...someone. Whether it be Jacob Black or me, I wasn't sure it mattered.

"All right. Just one more question, Mr. Black," the attorney said, smiling at the jury. "How did Ms. Brandon and her sister seem as they left the bar? Were they sober? Or did it seem like they'd had too much to drink?"

"Objection! Calls for speculation," Mr. Banner said quickly.

"Your Honor, Mr. Black has been a bartender for several years. He's seen many people leave the bar after spending a couple of hours or more there. He's entirely qualified to know if someone has had too much to drink."

I was numb as Alice growled, "Two beers and a shot in three hours! We weren't drunk!"

Jasper soothed her quietly as Jacob said, "They both were obviously feeling more than a little mellow, if you know what I mean. They didn't stumble out of the bar or anything, but you could tell they'd been drinking."

Mr. Goldman nodded sagely and then turned to the D.A. "Your witness, counselor."

I zoned out as Mr. Banner questioned Jacob, mostly about his credentials as a doctor – or lack thereof – whether or not he took women into the back room often, and whether or not he or anyone else from the bar had given us a field sobriety test.

Finally, Jacob was released from the stand and a ten-minute recess was called.

Edward was still tense beside me, and I was worried he was upset about my actions that night. It was one thing to hear about it in generalities, but to see the man I'd had sex with – rough sex, according to that man – and hear about the details from the man himself, that was entirely different.

"Edward," I started softly. "Are you..." I wasn't sure what to ask. Angry? Upset? Disgusted?

He shook his head. "Not now," he huffed, motioning softly with his head toward the couple at the other end of the couch. "I don't want to talk about it in front of them."

I nodded, feeling tears prick the back of my eyelids as I turned back to face the TV. Deep breaths allowed me to keep them inside, and soon, I had swallowed back all my emotions, staring blankly at the TV.

When the defense called their next witness, I sat up straight, shrugging off Edward's arm from my shoulders.

"Chelsea Bond?" I raised an eyebrow when the curvy, but gorgeous young woman took the stand.

"Who's she?" Jasper asked.

"She works at Denali and Associates," I muttered, wondering why the defense had called her as a witness. "She was Eleazar's personal assistant."

I listened, stunned, as she claimed that Eleazar Denali had pissed off more than one man. He'd been skimming from several of the firm's biggest clients.

"Ms. Bond," Mr. Goldman said, "did you ever witness a threat toward Mr. Denali?"

She nodded eagerly. "On more than one occasion, actually. My office is...was...connected to his, and I could always hear when voices were raised, even if they weren't yelling."

Chelsea went on to describe several visits from irate clients, a few of whom had physically threatened harm if he didn't get their money back somehow.

When Mr. Goldman gave the floor to the D.A., he didn't have many questions for her, other than asking about me and my character and if she herself had been there the night of Eleazar Denali's murder. She described me as a little buttoned-up tight and standoffish, claiming she was sure I had to have a wild side that I didn't show at the office, to which Mr. Banner promptly interrupted her, asking the judge to tell her to limit her answers to the questions asked. Once she said no, she hadn't been at the office that night, Mr. Banner said he had no more questions.

The judge dismissed Chelsea from the stand, and I wasn't the only one who noticed the small smile she gave Caius Volturi as she walked by the defense table.

"Son of a bitch!" I growled, sitting up straight and sliding my legs off Edward's.

Edward stood, beginning to pace as the judge told the defense to call their next witness. He froze when Mr. Goldman spoke.

"The defense rests, Your Honor, and I'd like to suggest we move right into closing arguments, to avoid keeping the ladies and gentlemen of the jury any longer than necessary."

"Is that what usually happens?" Alice piped up from beside me.

Edward shook his head, getting ready to answer just as the judge said, "That's an unusual request, Mr. Goldman." He looked at the clock on the wall. "It is only noon. We could break for lunch and be back at two o'clock, if Mr. Banner doesn't object."

I froze, waiting for the D.A.'s answer.

Mr. Banner stood from his seat at the prosecution's table and said, "No objections here, Your Honor. We'll be ready for closing at two."

Judge Afton banged his gavel and said court was dismissed for two hours, and then he left the courtroom, followed by his security.

"I need a cigarette," Edward muttered, leaving the apartment without another word.

I watched him go, a deep, heavy weariness settling on my shoulders.

"He'll be back," Jasper said, reaching past Alice to clap his hand on my shoulder. "He just needs some time."

Nodding, I left the living room, feeling the need to shower after having watched Jacob Black's testimony.

~oOo~

Edward still hadn't returned to the apartment by the time I had scrubbed myself as clean as I could and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I'd wanted to put on his Batman shirt, or the USMS one, which had been washed the day before, but I didn't want to be wearing it when we had to watch Volturi and his slime of an attorney – and after Edward had left the apartment the way he had, I wasn't sure he'd want me wearing them, either.

"Here, sweetie," Alice said quietly as she set a plate in front of me on the table, where I'd dropped into a chair moments before.

It was a simple turkey and cheese sandwich, and I could see a thick layer of mayo, lettuce, and tomato, but my stomach was in knots, and I wasn't sure I could keep anything down.

"B, you need to eat something. You didn't have breakfast." She pushed the plate to me. "Come on. Just a few bites, okay?"

I nodded and picked up the sandwich, taking a small bite simply to appease her. It was good, made just the way I liked it, but as I swallowed, it felt like a brick in my stomach. I was able to get through a few more bites, about half the sandwich, before enough was enough.

Alice frowned, but nodded and picked up the plate when I pushed it away.

By one forty-five, I was pacing in front of the couch in the living room. "Where is he?" I asked Jasper, getting almost frantic about Edward still being gone.

Before he could answer, the front door slammed open and closed. Jasper had his gun out and aimed at the doorway before two seconds had passed. He slowly put it away when Edward stepped into view.

"Motherfuck, Ed. That's a damn good way to get your ass shot," he growled.

"Sorry," Edward huffed, running a hand through his already unruly hair. His knuckles were scraped and dotted with blood, making me gasp.

"Come on," I said, pushing him toward the kitchen. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"We don't have ti—"

"We've got time. Go," I ordered.

I turned on the water in the sink, grabbing the first aid kit from underneath before motioning him over.

As I rinsed his hand, he winced and said, "Bella, I—"

"Not now, Edward. We don't have time for this."

"But—"

Shaking my head, I repeated, "Not now."

I couldn't think about whatever he wanted to talk about. He smelled like he'd been through an entire pack of cigarettes, and while he didn't have time for a shower, he could change out of the shirt he'd sweated through and brush his teeth.

I said as much as I finished cleaning the fresh wounds on his knuckles from where he must have hit the wall somewhere. They weren't bad enough to need to be bandaged, but they looked sore.

Nodding once, Edward stepped past me to the bedrooms, while I headed back to the living room.

~oOo~

My stomach was in such knots, I could barely pay attention to the words coming from the District Attorney's mouth as he began his closing argument.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have one job here today, but it's the most important job you could possibly have right now. Your job is to decide if Caius Volturi is guilty of murdering Eleazar Denali on the night of Friday, May eleventh, 2012. How do you do that, you ask? Simply by reviewing the evidence. Let's begin with the testimony of the medical examiner."

He reiterated that Eleazar had died of two gun shot wounds to the chest and one to the head, and while the medical examiner had been unable to detect which of the shots ultimately killed him, any of the three would have done the job, but the three combined had insured that he would never breathe another breath.

As Mr. Banner continued to speak, Alice and I huddled together on the couch, hands squeezing one another as he told of our eyewitness accounts of what we'd heard and saw. He reminded the jury that no matter what the defense tried to suggest, the first officers on the scene, as well as the detective who had questioned me shortly after, had seen no indication that I was impaired in any way.

"In fact," he said, raising his hands, "they said she was well-spoken, clear-headed, and as calm as she could be, given the situation she had found herself in. That in no way speaks of a young woman who had had too much to drink or one who had hit her head hard enough to hinder a positive ID of the men she saw walk by her after she heard gun shots."

His speech about Alice's – Mary's – testimony and the opinions of the officers and detectives on the scene was similar to the one about me. Then he turned his attention to Ben's testimony of my positive ID and Alice's later, separate one, before seeming to relax.

"Finally, you heard directly from Mr. Volturi's close associate, Felix Guardiano, that the two conspired to kill Mr. Denali, they went to the victim's office specifically to do that job, and then Mr. Volturi ordered him to get rid of the gun. That, along with the testimonies of Marie and Mary Brandon, makes three eyewitness accounts.

"Now, you may recall the defendant's lawyer making the claim that Eleazar Denali had stolen money from other men, made other enemies. I'm not disputing that, ladies and gentlemen. But a good man or bad, Eleazar Denali was killed in cold blood by the hand of the defendant, Caius Volturi. In 1903, Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote: _Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men._ Being a criminal does not mean Eleazar Denali deserved to die.

"I'm asking you to consider all the evidence, all the witness testimonies, and use your good judgment to bring about a guilty verdict on all counts, including first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and..."

I tuned the rest out, not caring what other charges the prosecution tacked on. The murder charge was the big one. It wouldn't get him sentenced to death if he were convicted – New York had reinstated the death penalty, but it had then been ruled unconstitutional or something – but it would get him a life sentence in prison, and that would have to be good enough for me. If there was any sort of justice, he'd find out in prison that he had made enemies, too.

Alice's sigh brought me back to the present, and I turned back to the TV just in time to hear the last line of the trial from the prosecution's side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would implore you to remember the quote by Theodore Roosevelt: _Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong._ Thank you."

Suddenly exhausted, I buried my face in my hands and cried.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I could've heard a pin drop in the apartment, even with the TV up pretty damn loud. Since Jasper had set up the computer through the flatscreen, the courtroom could be seen and heard in so much more detail. Though, there wasn't much _to_ hear. The defense was about to give their closing statement, so everyone was fucking silent.

I sat forward with my elbows on my knees to see how this weasel would spin his tale. He didn't have much in the way of evidence, except for a tiny seed of doubt that he could plant. When the jury was finally left to their verdict, it would all come down to who they believed. Goldman could've changed the plea to something different, but he was taking a different route. Instead of claiming that it wasn't premeditated or that it was snap decision, he was still spewing "not guilty" of murder in the first degree.

"Reasonable doubt, ladies and gentlemen," Goldman started his closing statement, pacing slowly in front of the jury. "That's what we have here. The prosecution wants you to believe the word of two drunken girls who claim they saw my client on the night in question. They also want you to believe the word of a criminal who is not only facing his own slew of charges, but who was a bitter employee of Mr. Volturi.

"We've heard – right here in this courtroom – a witness give testimony concerning the plethora of underhanded dealings in which the deceased, Eleazar Denali, was involved. Despite the fact that he was respected in his field, Mr. Denali made many enemies. He stole – skimmed off the top, if you will. He manipulated his clients into giving up thousands upon thousands of dollars. He used his knowledge to take from hard-working citizens, such as my client."

Jasper snorted, raising an eyebrow. "Hard-working, my ass..."

I grinned but turned my attention back to Goldman.

"You heard Ms. Marie Brandon testify that the alarm was off and that anyone could've walked into that office. _Anyone_ could've killed Eleazar Denali. There were a number of people he conned out of money who could have sought revenge," he pointed out, still pacing in front of the jurors.

"We heard Ms. Brandon's one-time lover, Jacob Black, swear that she was drunk, that she and her sister were barely walking when they left the bar that night. The question remains, if she was that intoxicated, how can she be a reliable witness?"

My jaw clenched. I was fucking tired of having that caveman thrown in my goddamn face. It was one thing to have a past – I sure as shit couldn't judge a damn soul on that end of things. But fuck me, if he wasn't a pompous, disgusting dog! He'd sat on the witness stand practically grinning at what had occurred that night. Goldman had drawn out in detail the whats, wheres, and hows. No amount of objections from Banner stopped that shit from getting out in the open.

I shot a glance to Bella next to me. Her face was a mixture of nausea and embarrassment, her eyes red from the tears that continuously fell. My head throbbed, my stomach clenched, because it was all I could do not to fall at her knees, beg her never to touch another man again. I wanted to wipe away the tears that streamed down her face and tell her that I didn't give a rat's ass what Marie Brandon had done, but that Bella Swan meant everything to me.

Up until the trial, Jake Black had been a faceless name – a simple noun in the description of the events. Now, though, he had a face, a foul personality, and I fucking hated him. And I hated him because he was like looking in a motherfucking mirror – he'd seen a beautiful girl and taken all that she'd give him. What I saw in that mirror disgusted me; Bella deserved more, and I wanted to give it to her.

I wanted to erase Black's entire existence from her mind, make it as if he never was. I wanted to claim her, make her mine, fuck the memory of that asshole right out of her beautiful head. And I wasn't sure that made me any better than him.

Bella shifted uncomfortably as Goldman went on falsely breaking down her character, but I couldn't touch her. I could barely look at her. If I did, then I knew everything I'd fought internally when it came to her would be written all over my face. That was a huge problem. It wasn't that she'd fucked a guy she'd never met before – it would be hypocritical of me to lay the blame there. It was the fear of being the next Jake. There was nothing stopping her from starting a new life in Seattle with me as just a mere memory. I didn't want to be a memory – a guy that "used to be." And that was what scared the living shit out of me because the coward that I was had told her back in Forks that I couldn't make her any promises.

At the time, I hadn't _wanted_ to make promises. I'd been burned before, but what scared me about that was what I felt for Maggie couldn't even come close to what I felt for Bella. And that thought made my hands ball up into fists so hard that all my knuckles cracked and the cuts from beating the shit out of the garage wall began to sting. And the mere idea of going back to my life in Seattle with how it had been made me sick to my stomach.

Forcing myself to concentrate on Goldman, I barely caught snippets of the last of his closing statement. He spoke about the lack of a murder weapon and that his client didn't even own a gun, which caused Jasper to scoff aloud, considering we all knew Volturi ran guns in New York. He focused on Felix, making him sound like a barely-there employee instead of the right-hand man that he'd truly been. The last thing he narrowed in on was Denali's character.

"They say it's not good to speak ill of the dead, but we have no choice in a court of law. We have to pick apart every aspect of the deceased's character. The problem here was that Eleazar Denali didn't have much character at all. He was a petty thief who hid behind tax laws and off-shore accounts."

Goldman took a step forward, placing his hands firmly on the edges of the podium. "Reasonable doubt, ladies and gentlemen," he said again, his voice unwavering. "When you go back to that jury room, you have to ask yourself just how many enemies did Eleazar Denali have. You have to ask yourself if the word of two drunk women is worth putting my client in prison for life."

The defense lawyer sat down at his table, looking confident – almost cocky. I wanted to wipe the smirk right off his fucking face. Instead, I bit the inside of my cheek and clenched my sore hands into fists once more to hold in the anger and disgust.

When Banner stood, he looked relaxed, confident – without looking smarmy or cocky. He stepped up to the podium, but shook his head as he moved to the side nearest the jury. He was straightforward as he reiterated the facts of the case: the witness testimony from the first responders and detectives that stated the girls were coherent, well-spoken, and certain of what they'd seen, with no sign of impairment of any kind; the girls hadn't identified a random theft victim at the scene of the shooting, but they had, without any prompting, identified the defendants, Caius Volturi and Felix Guardiano – that their testimony placed a gun of the same caliber as the murder weapon in their hands right after the shooting; and finally, that Mr. Guardiano himself testified as to what happened that night. By the time he finished speaking, several members of the jury were nodding, while others were almost glaring at Volturi, as if daring him to refute any of the facts.

Judge Afton turned to the jury to give them their instructions. Once the twelve people shuffled out of the courtroom, he called a recess for the moment, telling everyone that they would reconvene once the jury had its verdict. The pounding of his gavel was the last thing we heard before Jasper shut the TV off.

"How long could they take?" Alice asked in a whisper.

"Hours, or days," I answered, shrugging a shoulder. My elbows were still on my knees, but I stared down at the floor, only glancing up when Bella silently got up from the couch and left the room.

I didn't even bother to reason with myself; I simply followed her. I knew this shit was eating her up.

"Let me know if you hear anything," I muttered on the way out of the living room.

"Sure, man," Jasper responded, but he had his own girl to contend with.

I found her coming out of our bathroom, having washed her face. I closed the door to the bedroom, leaning back against it. I knew her well enough to know that she was about to blow up when the pacing started.

"Days? Really?" she squeaked, not even bothering to look at me.

"You've watched enough TV to know that's true, Bella," I sighed, gripping my hair in order to not grip her.

She huffed a pretty bitter laugh, shaking her head. "Just long enough for everything the defense said to sink in." Her fiery gaze met my face. "They twisted everything! He took everything that happened and made seem so...so..." She struggled with what to say, finally ending with, "Hell, he had _me_ believing that shit!"

"Baby, that's his job. To defend his client. _You_ know the truth." When she didn't say anything, I added, "It's not your fault."

"No. But my actions, my choices, could be enough to let Volturi go free, Edward!"

I flinched when her voice rose, but I was already shaking my head. "Bella, stop." I finally stepped away from the door and took her by the shoulders. "You know that's not true. You had way more backup up there than Goldman had on his side. Ben, Alice, even Felix."

Bella's brow wrinkled as she shook her head at me. "Yeah, but Jake said...he made me sound—"

"Don't!" I finally snapped. "I don't want to hear his name again. I'm fucking _done_!" I could barely find it in me to care that I was yelling. "The only thing that prick did was revel in the fact that a beautiful woman let him touch her. Nothing more!" I panted, glaring down at her, trying to ignore the fact that her face was slightly frightened. "He had you _once_! And never fucking again. Got me?!"

"Edward, I'm..."

"Uh-uh," I grunted, shaking my head. "Don't answer that. Know this: If it were up to me, no man would ever lay another finger on you again."

"It _is_ up to you," she whispered, looking away from my face, though she made no move to escape my grasp.

"No. No, Bella. You have _way_ more power than you think," I countered softly, without thinking. I loosened my hold on her upper arms, slipping up slowly to cup either side of her face. I took a deep breath and let it out. "So much fucking power," I whispered, dropping my forehead to hers. "And that's what the jury will see." I closed my eyes. "They'll see a strong woman who could have anything she wants, anyone she wants, and doesn't apologize for it when she takes it. That's an incredibly sexy quality, Bella. Don't be ashamed of it." I brushed my lips across hers, grounding myself in her before my jealousy and anger shot out of control. "I can't say that I blame him, baby. I wouldn't..._haven't_ been able to resist you, either."

She wrinkled her nose and tried to back away, shaking her head. Taking her hand, I sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her between my legs.

"You don't believe me?" I asked her, entwining our fingers together. "Bella, you have no idea how hard I fought the mere idea of you." I shook my head slowly, my eyes raking over every delicious inch of her. "It's all I can do to not find that guy and tell him how badly he fucked up. I guarantee you he's kicking himself because he only tasted you that one time. I want to rub it in his stupid fucking face that I've lost count of how many times I've taken you, how many times it was _my name_ you called out, and how he has no fucking clue how amazing it is to wake up with you in my arms. He doesn't get that. _I do_."

Her eyes focused on our hands. "You looked...you...it seemed like I disgusted you."

I laughed almost bitterly, and her eyes snapped to my face. "No. Never. I'm...fuck, I'm losing my mind." I sighed frustratedly, gripping my hair with my free hand, and shook my head at her. "No. I just can't stand the thought of you with someone else. I hate it. It makes me fucking crazy!"

Some sort of realization dawned across her face, and she stepped closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I don't want him, Edward."

"I know," I agreed, because I did know. I could see how she was looking at me; it was how she always looked at me – like I was the only thing that mattered. It made me feel like a god the first time and even more so now.

"I want _you_," she said, leaning on the last word like she'd done before. It was as if she was trying to drive it into my thick skull. She leaned down, brushing her lips across mine. "Just you. Only you, " she whispered, her deep brown eyes locking with my own.

"Say it again," I growled, pulling her roughly closer. "Who do you want?" I asked, slipping my hand into her hair at the base of her neck. I leaned in to press a long, slow, open-mouthed kiss to her throat, right where her pulse was pounding.

"You, Edward."

With a tighter grip to her hair, I pulled her mouth to mine. My tongue claimed, invaded, tasted. I kissed her hard, moaning when her fingers tugged my hair almost hard enough to hurt, though it wasn't a bad pain. I controlled every aspect of that kiss, and Bella let me. It wasn't until I tasted blood that I slowed down, finally pulling back.

Trailing my finger along her bottom lip where she'd chewed it to oblivion, I whispered, "Sorry."

She kissed the tip of my finger, her nose wrinkling a bit. "I'm the one who's sorry, Edward. I wish you hadn't heard any of that. I regret that whole night, trust me."

Swallowing nervously, I nodded but took in her stunning face. Fuck, she was just beautiful, flawless in a natural way – a way that most women paid big bucks to look. And I wanted her. Badly. I wanted her in every way imaginable. But I had one question.

"Do you regret this?" I asked her, toying with the bottom of her shirt while bracing for her answer. The overwhelming fear of being her first regret in her new life made me almost sick.

Bella cupped my face, forcing my gaze to hers. She shook her head. "No. I could never—"

"Good," I grunted, cutting her off.

That was all I needed to hear. Something in my chest broke free, allowing me to breathe for the first time in days. The air rushed out of me as I kissed her again, though this time, mindful of her sweet, tender bottom lip. The next few minutes were nothing but soft sounds, heavy breathing, and the removal of clothes. Our hands had minds of their own, it seemed. By the time we'd kicked out of our jeans and our shirts were tossed to the floor, my dick was so hard for her that a simple brush of her fingertips made him twitch for more, closer, everything. Guiding Bella to the middle of the bed, I braced one arm by her head so that the other was free to touch, squeeze, caress.

Bella stopped me, kissing my angry, red knuckles, and asked, "What happened, Edward?"

Leaning down, I pressed my lips to hers, whispering, "I punched a concrete wall."

"What? Why?" she asked, glancing down at my hand again, only to kiss them even softer, even sweeter than the first time.

I smirked, shrugging a shoulder. "Because I couldn't punch Jacob Black, or Mike Newton, or Caius Volturi, or anyone else who'd ever hurt you."

Bella's eyes welled up with tears, her hands pulling at me until I allowed my weight down on her. Her legs opened and wrapped around my hips, settling my dick where he was happiest – her sweet, wet pussy. He snuggled in like the whore he was.

"Edward, I..." She kissed me hard, not seeming affected by her sore lip, but it left me stupid and breathless by the time she pulled away. "God, baby, I...dammit, I need you."

My hips surged forward of their own accord, causing my cock to slip through her folds, brushing just lightly enough across her clit to make her whole body writhe beneath me. Her own hips tilted up, meeting me with every short, shallow thrust, but my hands were itching to touch.

"Just like this," I begged, allowing the lower parts of our bodies to remain pressed together, but my fingers ghosted over her breasts, under her arms, and up to her hands, finally linking our fingers together until I was pinning her down in every way.

I continued to tease her clit with the tip of my cock, over and over. My lips barely left her skin. I was everywhere, brushing kisses down her arms, paying close attention to the crooks of her elbows, which caused a string of curses to meet my ears when my teeth scraped just right. I was marking every inch of her as mine, trying my damnedest to erase the thought of anyone else with her. Her throat, collarbones, and shoulders all got the same attention, but I knew she was close when her eyes started to roll back into her head, her fingers squeezing my own. Leaning down, I captured a nipple between my teeth, only to soothe it with a long, slow lick, swirling around the peak.

"Tell me when you're coming, Bella. I want to hear it," I whispered, blowing my breath across the other nipple after giving it the same attention as the first.

Fuck, she was so wet. Every glide through her folds just coated me over and over. And I was so ready to be inside of her that I was leaking like a sieve.

"Yes...Edward, I'm..." Bella's breath caught in her throat, her head fell back, and her legs squeezed around me, but just as her climax peaked, I shifted just right and slid as deep inside her as I could go. Her cry out for me almost made me come on the spot, and it didn't help that her walls were clenching down on me like a vise.

Her whole body vibrated with the force of her orgasm. I stayed still, letting her calm just a bit before I started to move. Our bodies stayed stretched, our fingers still woven together.

This was so different. It felt just as good if not better than every other time with her, but this was so much more. This wasn't fucking or sex; I was making love to Bella, and that thought caused me to lean down and kiss her slowly, deeply, trying to communicate everything that I was feeling – whether I could say it or not.

I was completely in love with her. And that gave her all the power in the universe to destroy me.

"You feel so damn good," I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers and driving that much deeper into her.

Her fingers wriggled around mine. "I want to touch you. Please, Edward."

I released her hands, dropping to my elbows on either side of her head. I couldn't bear to be any farther away from her. I moaned, burying my face into her neck to suckle the sweetest skin I'd ever tasted.

"Fuck," I hissed, nipping at her earlobe. "Say it again. That you don't regret this. 'Cause fuck, I don't wanna stop."

Her fingernails raked up my back, across my shoulders, and finally, she grasped either side of my face to pull me away from her neck. She suckled my top lip, bottom lip, only to delve her tongue inside my mouth.

"God, no," she panted after she broke away from my lips. Nipping her way along my jaw, she opened her mouth to the skin just below my ear. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. The very best part of the silver lining," she whispered.

My hips slammed into hers, causing the sexiest of wanton moans to erupt out of her against my neck. I pushed up onto my hands to look down at her face. That answer was not what I was expecting. It was more. It went back all the way to her explanation of Mike Newton. She'd said the silver lining of WitSec – a new life – was that Marie Brandon had an ex named Mike, but Bella didn't. She'd been finding more and more parts of the silver lining ever since.

The sincerity, the emotions all over her flushed face, were all the confirmation I needed that she truly meant that shit. Suddenly, I was ready to come, and come hard.

"Come with me, come with me," I chanted, dropping my forehead back to hers. My eyes locked with deep brown as my hand slithered between us to find the sensitive spot that always sent her over the edge. "Please, baby, I need to feel you come again."

It didn't take much more coaxing before she was shuddering around me again. The halt of her breathing, the flush of her skin, and the tremor of her insides...they were all too much. Combined with all that she'd said, I was done – both figuratively and physically. I was a ruined man, and knowing that, I came so hard that my sight blackened for a moment, leaving nothing but white stars behind my eyelids.

"Fuck, fuck, _fuck_!" I growled, stilling all movements. My breathing was heavy, and I knew my weight was bearing down on her, but I couldn't fucking move. I didn't want to, either.

The room was deathly silent except for the slow ticking from the clock on the wall across the room. I opened my eyes to meet hers, brushing my lips over her own.

My brow furrowed as I kissed the tip of her nose. "I'm sorry that I left you earlier."

She smiled, shifting a little, so I pulled out of her and fell down along her side, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"You're kinda hot when you're jealous, Edward," she teased, kissing my chin when I chuckled. "And a little scary..." She held up her thumb and forefinger merely centimeters apart. "I thought for sure you hated me."

I was shaking my head before she finished. "No, far from it," I said cryptically. I hugged her even closer, kissing her again. "I'm sorry I scared you. And I'm sorry for all you've had to go through. I can't fucking imagine having a past indiscretion aired out there for everyone. It's not fair." I cupped her face, making sure she was listening to me. "I'm in no position to judge you on any of it. But I don't have to like it."

She grinned. "Fair enough," she sighed, smirking a little. "I'm sure eventually that we'll run into someone from your past in Seattle. I'm sure I'll hate it, too."

Groaning, I rolled onto my back and draped an arm across my eyes. "Yeah, ummm, we're not having this conversation yet. 'Cause if you're sexy when you're angry, I can't imagine how fuck-hot you'll be jealous..." My dick twitched just thinking about it, but I wasn't sure if it was the thought of Bella jealous or the fact that we were talking about Seattle, a carefully avoided topic.

She snorted, smacking me in the face with a pillow, and then sat up. "Don't flatter yourself, Edward Cullen!" she said with a laugh.

Chuckling again, I sat up and kissed her bare shoulder from behind her. "So you don't care if I'm with other women?" I asked teasingly, knowing the answer.

Her head turned, giving me a fiery glare over her shoulder. "I didn't say that."

Smirking, I brushed her hair from her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "That's what I thought." Trailing my fingertips across her shoulder and down her arm, I said, "Good. I don't want to be."

Bella turned to face me, kissing my lips lightly, but she studied my face. "We need to talk before we get to Seattle, don't we?"

Grimacing a little, I nodded. "Yeah, not only for your WitSec stuff, but for—"

"Us," she finished quietly, biting her bottom lip and nodding in acquiescence.

Reaching up, I tugged it from her teeth. "Stop that, baby," I chided gently. "You're tearing it up. And I happen to really like kissing you."

She smiled a little, but it was tentative and a touch sad. "I'd...I think we'd better wait until after the verdict. If Volturi goes free..."

I kissed her to shut her up – and in relief, because I wasn't ready for that conversation. "Okay," I said, pausing when her stomach growled. "Damn!" I chuckled, placing my hand over her stomach. "What the hell's in there? A walrus?"

Her giggle was pure and sweet and absolutely hilarious. "Okay, so I might be a little hungry."

I stopped laughing and cupped her face, realizing that she'd been upset when I'd stormed out of the apartment earlier. It was my fault she'd lost her appetite, and I needed to fix that shit. "What do you want, Bella? Anything. We'll get it."

She grinned. "Chinese!"

Sniffing once, I nodded. "Chinese, it is. Let's go see if the other two want something. If they don't want Chinese, they can fend for their fucking selves. Go get cleaned up and dressed." When Bella climbed out of bed, I noted her sexy-as-hell curves, her long, sex-mussed hair, and the sway of her hips as I got up and tugged on my jeans. "Bella," I called her before she reached the bathroom, and she turned to face me. Just above her breast was a dark love bite that made my dick start to feel a tad possessive. He twitched to life behind my zipper. I grabbed my Batman shirt off the corner of the dresser, tossing it her way. "And wear that."

~oOo~

"It's not here yet," Santiago said with a smirk as I made my way across the lobby.

I grinned, holding up my pack of cigarettes. "I know. I came down early."

He nodded, turned to Zafrina, and said, "Watch the desk. I'll keep him company outside."

"Yes, sir," she answered, taking the chair in front of the security monitors.

We walked together out the side lobby door, up the stairs of the garage, and out onto the top floor. I lit my cigarette, exhaling slowly. I really needed to quit. Bella hated it, but I didn't see that happening until we were out of this fucking city.

"Any news yet?" he asked.

"No, the jury's still out," I told him.

I set the pack and my lighter down on the wall, gazing out over the city. Santiago reached over, asking me silently for permission. I nodded, waving him on, trying not to eye the spot of blood from where I'd punched the cement wall earlier.

"My wife would kill me if she knew," he confessed, grinning over at me. "Nat was the reason I quit in the first place."

Gazing over at him, I had a million questions, but only one came out. "How'd you do it?"

He grinned, took a hit, blew it out. "I was stationed in Dallas straight out of training in Georgia. I'd been there about two and a half years before I caught my first WitSec detail. It wasn't the mob, it was a cult." His nose wrinkled when he grimaced. "You know, Jim Jones, Manson, that sort of shit. My witness, she was young, homeless, saw too much shit, and was finally able to escape, but the members of the cult hunted her, per their leader's command. I took the case." He was quiet for a moment. "I hid her well. My father had a hunting cabin, you see."

I nodded, smirking at how we'd both gone to the same measures to keep our charges safe. And suddenly, I missed the ease that Forks brought.

"My partner?" he asked with a smile. "Al Chambers."

Laughing, I shook my head. "Of course," I snorted.

"Bastard taught me everything I know before he was shipped off to Seattle," he said with a laugh. "He's a sly one. He knew. He knew the second I laid eyes on her that I was done." His eyes were faraway with the memory, and I understood that feeling. "And he made sure we did everything in our power to not only keep her safe, to get her to trial, but so that I could keep her in my life." He sighed, shaking his head. "He told me he wanted me to get 'my everything.'"

Taking a long hit on my cigarette, I grimaced. "He lost his first wife, Irina, in a car accident. She was pregnant with their first child. He's always called her that for as long as I can remember. His everything." I left out the fact that Uncle Al had said the same thing to me before I even took this case, that I needed to find mine, my everything. And now I had – the thought scared the utter shit out of me.

"Well, that makes sense," Santiago agreed, stubbing out his half-smoked cigarette and looking up at me. "For all his wisdom, bravery, and tough demeanor, there's a cheesy romantic underneath it all."

Snickering, I nodded, but waited for him to go on.

"My family is from here...New York." He pointed out toward the city. "So when the trial was over and the cult leader was on death row, I was finally granted a transfer to the Manhattan office. Natalie was given her new identity because some of the members are still running free, and she came with me. My family? They don't know. They'll never know, not that I think they'd give a shit. They adore my wife. I simply introduced her as who she is now."

Santiago raised an eyebrow at me. "Al is the only one who knows the truth. He not only made sure I got my position here, but he was the one that brought her to me. He's technically her handler."

I tossed my cigarette butt to the ground, stepping on it with my sneaker. "So no one knows? No one cares?"

"No," he said simply. "You'll know. I see the way you look at her, Edward. I've worn that same expression. She's more than a case, more than a witness. What you have to do is forget her life before this and focus on who she will be. To your family, to the florist, to her new neighbor, she's now Bella. Marie Brandon is a stranger."

"I know," I hedged, gazing over the city and then back to him. "And if she's made?"

"Can you live without her if she had to move?" he countered.

The answer was screaming inside of me that no, I couldn't live without Bella. But just as I was about to answer him, the cell phone in my pocket went off with a text from Jasper that told me to grab the damn food and get my ass upstairs. The jury was already back.

"Fuck, the jury's back," I hissed, and we double-timed it back downstairs to the lobby.

I thanked Zafrina for paying for the Chinese delivery, tossed a wad of bills her way, grabbed the full bag, and bolted for the elevator.

When I came through the door, I found everyone nervously sitting on the edge of the sofa. I set the bag of food on the coffee table, falling down beside Bella. One whiff of me explained why I'd taken so long.

"Sorry, baby," I whispered, kissing her temple instead of her lips.

"No, I get it," she told me with a nervous smile and a glance at the TV.

Alice came back into the living room with forks and plates, and we divided up the food while the courtroom was abuzz with activity. We all froze when the bailiff called out.

"All rise!"

Judge Afton situated himself behind the bench, the entire courtroom taking a seat when he did. One glance at Volturi, and I could see the motherfucker sweating bullets. Afton waved to the bailiff to let the jury in. Twelve people took their places, all of them sitting down except the foreperson. She stayed standing, a folded piece of paper in her hand.

Leaving my plate untouched, I wrapped an arm around Bella. Her frame was trembling beside me, so I slipped my hand to her neck and rubbed softly.

"Shh, baby. Relax," I whispered in her ear. "No matter what, I've got you."

She nodded, her eyes never leaving the flatscreen.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Afton asked.

"We have, Your Honor," the foreperson answered, handing the paper over to the bailiff, who took it to the judge.

He opened it, read it, and handed it back. "Caius Volturi, please stand."

"Ooh-wee, he looks like he's about to shit a brick," Jasper snorted as the sweaty old man stood up.

Afton eyed Volturi, turning to the foreperson. "In the charge of murder in the first degree, how do you find the defendant?"

The woman took the paper, opened it, and read, "Guilty, Your Honor."

"In the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, how do you find him?"

"Guilty, Your Honor."

Several more charges were read off – things that just didn't matter – and both the courtroom and the apartment exploded. Alice jumped up and started dancing around, and Jasper wrapped her up and spun her. Bella stood up shakily and stepped away from the room. Before I could reach her, she fell to her knees behind the sofa, a sob escaping her. Falling to my own in front of her, I pulled her into my arms and hugged her close.

"It's over," she sniffled into my neck, gripping my T-shirt like I'd fly away. "It's really over."

"It's really over, baby. I promise." Cupping her face, I wiped her tears away with my thumbs. "Beautiful," I whispered, shaking my head at the need to just ravish the shit out of her, "you did it. I knew you could." I brushed my lips across hers.

She leaned into me, sniffling a little.

"Be proud, Bella. The hard part is over."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: The trial is done! And Volturi is going away. This was a tense chapter to write. They're just so stubborn, but completely loyal. And now you know Santiago's story...and more importantly, _Edward_ knows Santiago's story. Not that it changes much at this point, because we're not _quite_ out of NY yet.**

**I know some of you are worried that with the trial being over, this fic is winding down. No. As Jenny stated, there are 34 chapters to this fic, so welcome to the other side of the hill. ;) Again, I urge you to brace yourselves for a bumpy ride. Now is when things become...real.**

**There are pictures to go along with this chapter. You can find them on Jenny's site and my blog. :) Check our profile for links!**

**Okay, so we'll see you on Sunday for chapter 22. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N #1: So Caius has been found guilty, Felix flipped and will also most likely be going into WitSec – albeit in a prison somewhere – and Santiago and his wife met when she was a protected witness. Fun stuff. ;) Thank you guys so much for all the reviews and for spreading the word about this story. We truly appreciate it all! This is a long chapter: Yay! No action: Boo! I know, I know. You guys want more action. There WILL be a little more in the story, but not right away. So read on and then see Deb at the bottom. :) – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 22**

**Bella POV**

I stood at the window in the living room, looking out at the city – or as much of it as I could see. This place didn't feel like home anymore, which both frightened and calmed me. It had never truly been _home,_ but it had been comfortable. Now, it just felt foreign, like someplace I didn't belong.

"Gonna miss it?" Edward's low voice asked softly in my ear as he stepped up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist.

Leaning my head back, I rested it against his shoulder so I could still look out. "In some way, I suppose," I said, being totally honest. "I'll miss the mix of cultures – it truly is one big melting pot here. Feel like Thai food at three in the morning? There's likely a place available for delivery. Wanna catch a show, either live or a movie in the theater? Yeah, you can totally do that." I shrugged. "But there are so many people. It's hard to have an identity here, to feel like you're...I dunno, part of something, I guess. It'll be nice to be somewhere I can have a car again and actually drive it."

I turned, chuckling as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Alice and I tried for a while at the beginning – to keep one, I mean. But for as little as we got to drive it, we were paying out the nose to keep it parked somewhere, idle. We finally sold it about a year after we moved here for school."

Edward laughed, nodding. "Yeah, it's definitely easier to get around here on the subway, but you'll need a couple of cars in Seattle. I can help you pick it out. Jasper knows jack about cars, so I'll help Alice, too, if she'd like."

Smiling, I stretched up to kiss him. "Thanks. I'm sure we'll take you up on that offer." I paused, feeling the bulk of his Kevlar vest under his shirt. "I guess it's about time to go, hmm?"

He nodded, motioning with his head behind him. "I brought your vest and other shirt out. Jasper's helping Alice into hers, and the bags are already down in the SUV."

I glanced at the clock. Just after seven in the morning. The trial had ended the day before, and we weren't going to stick around for the sentencing, which could take up to a week. We had a long day of travel ahead of us, although we knew the routine well now. Al had worked it so Tim and Lt. Davies were our pilots from New York to Idaho, and from there, we were catching a helicopter back to Portland, where we'd pick up a car – although not the same one we'd been using before.

"All right, then," I said with a sigh. "I suppose I'm ready."

As soon as I was all strapped up and had the outer shirt on over the vest, I pulled my hair up and put the baseball cap on, tugging the ponytail through the hole in the back. Then I slid on the sunglasses Edward held out, glad this was one of the last times we'd have to be so cautious about what we wore when we went outside.

Tim's now-familiar knock sounded – three quick taps followed by two longer ones – and Edward pressed me forward with a hand to my lower back as Jasper called the all-clear.

"Morning, ladies," Tim said with a smile when we walked out of the apartment for the last time.

"Morning," I replied, giving him a small smile as Alice echoed my greeting.

He was a sweet guy with a great sense of humor, and he was a huge flirt, but totally harmless. He loved to make Alice and me smile, which had been helpful over the last week, especially. We felt comfortable around him, and from what I could tell, Edward and Jasper felt comfortable having him as backup.

The guys made small talk as we rode the elevator down to the first level of the building. Tim went first, motioning to Jasper, who then followed him out. Edward shepherded Alice and me out ahead of him, and we all walked quickly but casually across the lobby to the side door leading into the garage. Several marshals gave us smiles as we passed, but I didn't see Santiago anywhere, and I was a little bummed that we wouldn't get to say goodbye to the man who had helped keep us safe while we were in New York.

When we stepped out into the garage, I couldn't help but grin because the man I'd just been thinking about was standing beside the open back door of the SUV, waiting for us with a smile.

"I didn't think we were going to see you again," I said as I stepped up to the door behind Alice, who was being helped inside by Jasper.

"Aww, like I was going to let you leave without seeing you off," Santiago scoffed, winking.

I liked the older man a lot. He was always ready with a gentle smile, and his eyes were kind and held what seemed to be a lot of wisdom, like he knew what we were going through.

I smiled once more before climbing in with Edward right behind me. Once the back door was closed, Tim climbed in the front passenger seat and Santiago in the driver's seat, and we took off into the early morning sun.

~oOo~

When we finally parked the SUV on the tarmac at Mitchell Air Force Base, we all climbed out. Lt. Davies was there and gave us a warm smile as she helped Tim unload all our bags and carry them into the plane. Edward tried to hurry me in after them, but I put my hand out to stop him.

"Hold on," I said. "Give me a sec."

When I turned back and started moving to Santiago, Alice must've known what I was doing, because she turned and followed along with me.

Wrapping my arms around him, I hugged him for a moment and said, "Thank you for everything."

He hugged me back gently and patted my shoulder after I let him go. "It was my pleasure. Keep that man over there on his toes, little one. I've heard enough about him from Al to know he needs it," he teased with a wink at Edward, who grumbled playfully under his breath.

Laughing, I nodded. "I will," I told him before stepping back to Edward and letting Alice say her goodbyes.

With one last wave, the guys moved us onto the plane and had us strap in so Tim and Lt. Davies could take off.

"Once we're in the air, we can take these off, right?" I plucked at the vest under my T-shirt.

Edward nodded as he buckled his own seat belt. "Yeah, after the seat belt light goes off and we're free to move around."

"Do we have to put them back on before we land?"

He shook his head and smiled, taking my hand. "No, this'll be the last time you have to wear it."

"Thank God!" I said with a groan. I hated the damn thing. It was bulky, sweaty, and heavy, but it was there to protect me, so I hadn't grumbled too much.

~oOo~

The four-hour plane ride from New York to Idaho went quickly. The guys talked sports for a while as Alice and I talked about what we wanted to do once we got settled in Seattle. She already knew she was going to do something with dance – she was sure she'd have to find some studio to work with, rather than opening her own, at least at first. I still wasn't sure. I was hoping Al might have some ideas. I wanted to do accounting still because I really did love it – numbers just made sense; they were consistent and true – but I wasn't sure what my options would be.

When the plane touched down at Mountain Home Air Force Base, it was with a heavy heart that Alice and I stepped up to Tim.

"You made our trips across country and the time in New York easier," Alice said, squeezing him tight. "Thank you."

Tim's face was pink when she pulled away, allowing me to hug him, as well. "She's right," I agreed, giving him a smile. "Thank you for arranging the time off so you could be there for us." When I stepped back, I asked, "Any idea what your plans are after you complete your service?"

He grinned. "I have some ideas..."

"So mysterious," Alice said with a laugh.

Tim shrugged and then smiled as Jasper came up and shook his hand.

"Thanks, man," he said before putting his hands on our shoulders. "Come on, ladies. Bags are in the helicopter, so time to load up."

I looked back at Edward, who was now speaking quietly with Tim, and I settled in when I saw them shake hands and Edward start to make his way to us.

Just before the helicopter took off, Alice and I waved at Tim and Lt. Davies, and then the helicopter lifted into the air, another piece of my former life fading away with the image of the two military pilots on the ground below.

~oOo~

Seven hours later, I sighed as we passed the "Welcome to Forks" sign on the edge of town. I'd slept some on the plane and then again in the car, but neither had been altogether comfortable. I was ready to get out and stretch my legs for longer than a five-minute bathroom break.

"Everyone hungry?" Edward asked from his spot behind the steering wheel.

All three of us nodded, so he pulled into the diner parking lot.

"Wanna eat here or head to the house?"

Alice wrinkled her nose. "I vote the house..." From the way she was crossing her legs, I knew she had to use the bathroom, and going at the diner would not be her top choice.

"Me, too," I agreed.

Jasper shrugged, so Edward said, "House, it is. I'll go order, then. Orders?"

We spouted off what we wanted – everyone wanted a big greasy cheeseburger and fries, as well as a chocolate or strawberry milkshake – and then he stepped out and opened my door.

"Come with me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sure."

As soon as he ordered, Edward led me to an empty table to the side, gently pushing me down to the seat and then sliding in beside me.

At my yawn, he smiled. "Tired?"

I shrugged unapologetically. "Little bit, yeah."

"If you wanna skip on the movies the other two are planning, just say so, baby. I don't mind."

"I will. It'll be fun, though," I promised. "Just being able to sit and relax without worrying, I mean."

"Yeah." He grinned, pulling me in to kiss the top of my head.

"When do you think Al will get here?"

Edward shrugged. "Who the hell knows anything about that man? Half the time, I'm not even sure _he_ knows."

I giggled, enjoying the teasing banter that happened more often than not between the man beside me and his pseudo-uncle.

"Probably tomorrow sometime, if his ass isn't already planted inside."

We talked and laughed for another ten minutes until the waitress, who didn't flirt or talk with Edward like she knew him at all, came over and set a paper sack filled with food and a cardboard drink holder down in front of us. Edward paid her, flashing his crooked smile in thanks, and then the two of us grabbed the dinner and left the restaurant.

The house was empty when we arrived, the security shutters in place and no other car in the drive or garage. We filed into the house, leaving the bags in place in the trunk of the car for the time being. Alice and I set out the food on the coffee table while Edward and Jasper checked the house and opened the shutters.

"I vote _Iron Man,_" I said a few minutes later when Edward held up two choices for our movie.

That got two more votes, so Edward put the disc into the player, grabbed the remote, and then came and sat down beside me, picking up his burger. He took a huge bite, moaning under his breath.

Leaning over, I whispered softly into his ear, "I swear that sounds almost like your sex moan."

He choked and sputtered as I laughed, earning a raised eyebrow from Jasper and a knowing smirk from my sister.

I waved them away as I picked up the remote and pressed Play.

After _Iron Man,_ we decided on _Signs._ I'd loved this movie from the first moment I saw it. The wife dying made me sob every time, and by the end, when the brother was told to "swing away," I still felt as scared as I had the first time.

By the end, I was yawning almost constantly, the cool darkness of the living room exacerbating my fatigue.

Edward, who had been running his fingers through my hair, said, "That's it. Stick a fork in us, we're done." He urged me to sit up with a hand under my head. "Good night, guys. Bella and I are going to bed."

I nodded, waving through another yawn. "'Night," I called over my shoulder as Edward guided me down the hallway to the first-floor bedroom.

Our bags, which the guys had brought in between movies, were sitting at the foot of the bed. I hauled mine up and opened it, beginning to riffle through it.

"What'cha looking for?" Edward asked, leaning against the door frame.

I was quiet for a minute as I kept searching, and then I pulled out Edward's USMS T-shirt. "This," I said, grinning. "I want a shower, and then I wanna climb into bed. Wanna join me?"

Edward grinned, reaching back over his head to pull off his T-shirt, and then began undoing the button and zipper of his jeans as he followed me.

I was ready to wash away the griminess of a full day of travel, and the master bathroom was the perfect place for that. The glass and tile shower enclosure was plenty big enough for two. One end included a rainfall shower head, while the other had a built-in bench seat. Above that on the side wall was another shower head – this one detachable with a hose.

By the time I climbed into the shower, Edward already had it warm and steamy. I stepped under the spray, letting the hot water rain down over me and feeling the last stress of the day melt away. Edward wrapped his arms around me, moving us a step out of the direct spray of the water, and I could feel his insistent erection rubbing between my cheeks, making me shiver. It was a delicious sensation, wet skin against wet skin, and suddenly, I wasn't nearly as tired as I'd felt before.

Without stepping away from him, I reached out for the body wash, popped the cap, and poured it into his hand when he held it out. He lathered it up and began smoothing it over my body, starting at my stomach.

"Fuck," I groaned softly when his hands slid up to cup my breasts, the soap making them slick as he pinched and pulled at my hardened nipples.

His breath was warm against my neck as he sucked and licked the drops of water beading on my skin. "I wanna make you feel so good, baby," he said quietly, pinching my nipple a little harder, just how I liked it. "Can I do that?"

I nodded, whimpering as he sucked harder on the skin just behind my ear.

Guiding us back into the spray, he rinsed away the bubbles and then moved me up so I was at the bench. I turned and sat as he directed me, and then he dropped to his knees carefully on the tile floor, looking up at me through hooded eyes. I whimpered again as he slid his hands up my legs to my thighs, parting them even farther before reaching back and scooting me forward until I was on the edge of the seat.

Edward leaned in and dragged his nose up the crease between my leg and thigh.

"You always taste so good...right here," he said, scraping his teeth across the skin there and making me squirm. "Hold still, baby," he purred, pulling my legs over his shoulders.

"Edward!" I moaned when he suddenly licked me from the bottom of my slit to the top, his tongue circling around my clit but not touching.

Much like he did when he kissed my mouth, he sucked my lower lips into his mouth, nibbling gently. I couldn't find purchase with my hands, the tile bench too slick to hold onto, so one hand found its way to his hair while the other braced myself on the wall.

I watched as he parted my lower lips with two fingers, holding me open to his gaze. He finally looked up, keeping his eyes on mine as he lowered his head again. I cried out as he slid his tongue languidly inside me once, then he swirled it around my entrance before diving back in again. I couldn't keep my hips still, nearly bucking to meet his face as he pulled away. I wanted – needed – more, and I told him so.

"God, Edward...please!"

"Oh, baby, no begging," he purred, kissing the inside of my thigh.

One finger on his free hand reached between us to trace around my clit, down my slit to circle my entrance, finally pressing inside slowly.

"Let me know if it's uncomfortable," he said before lowering his head and drawing my clit into his mouth.

I cried out, gripping his hair hard as sensations quickly overwhelmed me. I was so wet, his finger slid in and out easily, and he crooked it, easily finding my g-spot as he continued sucking my clit and teasing it with his tongue and teeth. With only a few more strokes, his name echoed on the shower walls as I shattered around him, banging my head back against the tile.

"Shit, baby, are you okay?" he asked when he finally pulled away and noticed me rubbing the back of my head and breathing hard, still shaking from the orgasm he'd given me.

Laughing, I nodded. "I'm fine, I promise. I didn't even feel it until after."

He still looked worried. "Bella—"

"Hush, Edward," I said firmly, sitting up and wrapping my arms around him and drawing him so I could kiss his lips. I tasted myself on him, along with the spicy, masculine taste that was all Edward, and it sent my pulse racing again. "Take me to bed, baby."

He must've seen the truth in my eyes, because his own darkened again and he leaned in, kissing me hard once more. "Your wish, my command, beautiful."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

Coming up out of the haze of sleep was like swimming through sand. I could smell my pillow, sense that the sun was just barely coming up, and feel the light touches on my back, but still, it was hard to open my eyes. I was too comfortable. The bed was warm, with sweet, smooth legs tangled around mine. I'd forgotten how relaxing being at my home in Forks felt.

I fought my smile, stayed perfectly still, and let the touching continue. Bella was tracing the ink on my back – around the knot and along each tribal line. It wasn't the first time she'd done it, but it seemed to be happening more and more often. And I wondered if it was the design that attracted the attention, or if there was more to it.

"You know, that tickles," I mumbled into my pillow, shifting back against her.

Her giggle was soft and sexy, and it was then I felt her lips press to the center of my back, her breath pushing out against my skin as her hand traveled down my ribs and around my waist. I covered her hand with my own, linking our fingers together over my stomach.

"If this tickles, Edward, then how on earth did you survive a needle?" she asked in a whisper, adding tongue into the mix, which made me moan low.

I grinned and shrugged a shoulder. "It didn't tickle then. It hurt like fucking hell," I told her. "Especially the part closest to my spine."

"Here?" she asked, pressing more kisses between my shoulder blades.

"Yeah." I closed my eyes, lost to the sensation of her touch.

Her hand flattened under mine, and she started to skim over my abs, up my chest, only to ghost down to the edge of my boxer briefs, toying with the trail of hair just above it.

"Bella..."

I felt her smile against the skin of my back, and then her tongue trailed up the tribal lines that came almost to a point at the base of my neck. When she switched down to the bottom line and followed it all the way out to the curve of my shoulder, I finally turned to look up at her looming over me.

"Hmm?" she hummed against my shoulder. Her eyes were dark, wanting, lethal.

Rolling onto my back, I pulled her on top of me and skimmed my hands over bare thighs, over cotton underwear, and underneath my USMS T-shirt in order to tease her lower spine. She curled up on my chest like a lazy cat, resting her chin on her arms and straddling my stomach.

"Fuck, you're beautiful," I sighed, shaking my head a little at how much she owned me now versus when we'd first met. I'd thought she was beautiful then, but now... Now, I couldn't get enough of her. "Why are you up so early?" I asked, running my fingers through her hair.

She smiled, shrugging a shoulder. "I slept on the plane and then a little in the car. Do you regret any of these?" she asked, pulling my arm up to inspect the angel on my forearm. "She's beautiful. I've never really looked at her face before." Her voice was soft, sweet.

"No." My answer was simple. I liked my ink because it represented things in my life – mile-markers – I had no control over, but I could control my tattoos.

She bit the inside of her cheek like she was afraid to speak, but finally blurted out, "Even the one on your back?"

I studied her face, noting open curiosity. "Are you asking about the tatt or Maggie?" I countered, tilting my head at her.

"Either. Both, I guess," she answered nervously. "I don't mean..." She shook her head. "You don't have to answer that, Edward. I was just curious."

She started to shift off me, but I wrapped my arms completely around her, pinning her to me.

"Just wait," I sighed, my brow furrowing. "The answer is still no. I don't regret Maggie, just what she did to me. I used to wonder if anything we had was real, if she simply used me from the beginning, or if she cared even a little bit. There were good times, so part of me thinks she was being used too, by Randy." I sniffed once, clearing my throat, but went on. "It was those unanswered questions – because she wouldn't see me at all after it was all fucking over – that made me angry, which led to the ink, Bella." I pulled her face to mine and kissed her to let her know I wasn't upset that she'd asked about my past, especially such a sensitive subject. "I don't regret the tattoo, either, though the meaning behind it seems to be changing," I whispered, shocking myself with my own admission.

"What do you mean?"

Smiling at her, I trailed my fingers down her sweet face. "It'll always mean life, death, and rebirth, but I'm thinking it's a constant cycle now. Life will always be me, because it's my life, but death was my birth father. When I came out of my relationship with Maggie, I was...scarred. The rebirth part was a way to keep people out, to remind myself to never let it happen again. I was reborn..."

"Jaded," she finished for me.

"Yeah. That works."

Bella reached up, ran her fingers through my hair gently, and said, "You're not as jaded as what you try to push out there."

Chuckling, I shrugged a shoulder. "I really was, Bella. You have no idea what I was like before you. You've only seen a touch of it in the beginning, but..." I shook my head at just how easily she'd sneaked past my guard, my walls, locking gazes with her. "I've been reborn again," I whispered, hoping like hell she understood what I was trying to tell her.

We hadn't talked about _our_ future in Seattle, and we'd only just touched on the WitSec part of things. That would be an in-depth conversation with Uncle Al later. So this was skirting the edges of it. I loved her with an intensity I couldn't control, but was it fair to blurt it out there when she hadn't even started living her new life? And the possibility that I would eventually only be welcomed as her handler scared the shit out of me.

However, Bella wasn't stupid. She smiled a bit, her dark eyes registering something behind their sharp, intelligent depths.

"And the death?"

"Someone had to die for me to meet you, yeah?" I countered, grimacing at how fucking cold that sounded, but Denali sounded like a prick, so I couldn't exactly shed a tear over the asshole.

She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Edward..."

"What?" I defended with a dramatic gasp. "I'm pretty sure I'd have hated your old boss, B. No lie."

She laughed, burying that shit into my chest. Our whole bodies shook with it.

"You're probably right," she finally admitted with a snicker, but her eyes were warm as they raked over my face. "Angela was right about you."

My mouth fell open. "Spill, woman! What did she say?"

Bella smirked, rolling her eyes, but she continued to play with my hair. "That you were...tough. Alice and I asked what you and Jasper were like when we first heard you were coming. She spoke so highly of you, almost with a reverence. She told us you were tough, as loyal as the day is long, and that you could be trusted. She also said that underneath all of that, you had a marshmallowy center: sweet and gooey on the inside."

Chuckling, I shook my head. "So _that's_ what she meant! Oh, I'm _so_ getting her back."

"No," she chided with a giggle. "She was totally right!"

Growling, I rolled us over, grinding my always hard dick into her, and he snapped awake, eager and hungry for her. "Does that feel marshmallowy to you?"

She laughed, her head falling back, and I couldn't resist the sweet skin of her exposed neck. I chuckled when my two-day stubble made her squirm and wriggle under me.

"No!" she protested in a squeak, but her arms and legs wrapped around me.

Trailing kisses up her neck and across her jaw, I finally just kissed her. I wasn't sure I could stop at just kissing, either. Being back in Forks was comforting. It was where we'd first given in to the draw to each other. It was where Bella had finally felt at ease since witnessing the murder of her boss. And now that the trial was over, Volturi was convicted, and we were back here – if only temporarily – I was going to take as much of Bella as she'd let me before Seattle.

What started as fun and silly and teasing suddenly turned to gripping and groping and grinding. Heavy kisses with scraping teeth and invading tongues gave way to under-the-clothes touching. Bella's hands slipped stealthily beneath my underwear, taking my ass into two strong hands as she pulled me against her harder. My own hand cupped her breast, squeezing it, and I reveled in the sound of my name when I toyed with her hardened nipple.

I was just about to yank her shirt off when the shrill sound of the cell phone rang on the nightstand. It vibrated, rang, vibrated, rang, and my head fell, defeated, to Bella's shoulder. Blindly, I reached for the phone, not bothering to look at who it was.

"This better be fucking good," I rumbled into the damn thing, covering Bella's mouth with my hand when a giggle escaped her.

"You know, we _really_ need to work on your people skills," Al simply replied, sounding way too chipper this early in the goddamn morning. "There's no need for this foul behavior."

"Shut the fuck up, Al," I half-teased. "What do you want?"

He merely laughed into the phone. "I'm on my way. Thought I'd give you a heads up, sunshine."

"A heads up," I mused, picking up my head to stare down at Bella, who was amused by this conversation. "Does this mean I need to feed your ass breakfast?"

"Absolutely. Toast, no butter, scrambled eggs, and bacon."

I sighed, shaking my head. "Fine. Then you get to pick that shit up on your way in. We didn't stop last night."

"Loser," he grumbled.

"Weird old man," I countered. "Shut the hell up and drive. I'll have coffee ready."

"Deal!"

Bella giggled when I closed the phone and tossed it onto the nightstand. "He's on his way?"

"Yeah," I sighed sadly. "I'm not done with you."

Grinning, she grabbed my face and kissed me. "Well, I certainly hope not, but I guess we'll have to pick this up later."

I nodded and let her up, grumbling about cockblocking and more sleep and rain checks.

~oOo~

"Hey, Uncle Al!" the girls chimed, and Jasper and I both groaned and rolled our eyes. The asshole ate that shit up.

"Ah, beautiful ladies," he crooned back, grinning like a lottery winner when they kissed his cheeks.

Grabbing the bag of groceries from him, my eyes fell to Bella. "You really shouldn't feed his ego. He can do it just fine all on his own."

Bella simply shrugged and smiled, unloading the bags on the counter. She helped me with breakfast while Jasper and Al loaded up all the extra weapons and equipment he'd given us over the course of this detail. The rifles, the vests, and the radios were all loaded up into the trunk of his car. However, he let the video surveillance equipment stay hooked up out at my front gate, stating, "You never know."

We sat at the dining table, giving Al my father's old spot at the head. He kept the conversation light, telling story after story of his ex-wife, Jane. He found it funny _now_, but I remembered a time I thought he'd kill her over their daughter, Katie – an adorable little nine-year-old with more smarts than she knew what to do with most of the time. She was her father made over.

"She wants to know when _Edward_ will take her out on his bike..._again_," Al growled, rolling his eyes.

Grinning, I nodded. "Hell yes! You're getting her for the summer?" I asked him, and he nodded. "Tell her whenever she's ready. I still have her pink helmet."

"I'll never forgive you for that. I'm prematurely gray because of you," he snapped, stabbing blindly at his scrambled eggs.

"It's because of Jane. You can't fool me, old man," I countered, pointing my fork at him. "And it wasn't like I took her on the turnpike. It was only around my neighborhood."

"I know," he snorted, turning to the girls. "My Katie watched Edward and Carlisle work on that bike for _hours_ one day. We'd had a family barbecue, and she'd hung on their every word and move. Before I could stop him, Edward snatched her up, put her in front of him on that deathtrap, and took off through the neighborhood. She's been hooked ever since. Edward's her _hero_."

Bella and Alice giggled, looking between Al and me. Jasper chuckled and nodded because he'd been there. He'd said that Al cursed my very existence, until he saw the smile on his baby girl's face when we got back. I'd been careful, taken it slow, but she was always trapped in the middle of two fighting adults. In fact, she'd been listening to her dad argue with her mother on the phone when I'd pulled her up on that bike and took off.

I simply smiled Al's way, and he flipped me off.

"How's the baby?" Bella asked, still amused over the last topic, and my head shot up to see Al beaming.

"Absolutely gorgeous," he answered, shaking his head with a small laugh. "And she's already running her daddy and granddaddy ragged. I can't wait to see how Mr. Crusty McCrankerson over here reacts to her. Put _her_ on your bike, and Rose will personally sever your twigs and berries from your body."

Laughing, my head fell back. "I have way too much fear of my sister to even attempt it."

Once everyone had finished eating, Al turned to the girls. "Go get me the packet you received from the DOJ," he told them, and Alice shot up from the table and up the stairs.

Jasper cleared the table and started the dishwasher as we separated Bella's identity from Alice's. As Jasper and Alice joined us back at the table, Al pulled out his own thick envelope from his briefcase by the front door.

He slapped it down, saying, "I want this table to be an open forum. Okay? I want you two to be perfectly clear on anything we're about to discuss. So ask questions."

"Okay," Bella and Alice said softly at the same time.

It wasn't easy, though Al tried to keep the conversation going as easily as possible. It was difficult to watch the two girls try to absorb all the changes they were about to face. He explained that their identities were complete all the way down to their credit history. He slid two plain, white envelopes their way, which contained not only checks in the amounts of their bank accounts down to the very penny, but the money from selling Alice's dance studio. That last thing alone caused the usually hyper thing to well up with a few tears.

"Oh, Pix, I'm sorry." Bella sighed, shaking her head, and she gripped my hand under the table when I placed it on her thigh. She turned to Al. "So I guess the next question is...jobs."

Al smiled softly and nodded. "You can do whatever you like, as long as it's not in the public eye. But neither of you had high-profile jobs. If you have problems finding something once you're settled in, then we have a job placement program, Bella." He leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table and giving them an intense gaze. "It's so very, very important that the two of you memorize every single detail of your new lives – employment history, past, parents, travel...everything. You need to know it better than you knew your old lives. Okay?"

Bella's brow furrowed, and she nodded, giving the pile of information on the table in front of her a fearful glance. "No, I get it. I mean...I'm not Marie anymore, so I have to _become_ Bella Swan."

We all noted the tone of her voice, but Al glanced up at me, grimacing a little. "From what I can tell, you've already become her, sweet one. Just keep that up, okay? You just have to add in a few spices."

Both girls cracked a smile on that.

"Look, ladies, you'll be able to live pretty normally once you settle in. You can buy things, get cell phones again, and pretty much be yourselves. It's simply under a new name."

"What about a place to live?" Alice piped up.

"Ah-ha!" Al said with a grin, pulling out another stack of papers. He slid them to the middle of the table. "I know you won't know the city, and I know you kind of want to settle in quickly, so I took the opportunity to make a list of a few places that are available to rent immediately, and they're furnished."

Hands grabbed at the papers in the middle of the table, and one of them was my own. I wanted to know just where exactly he was putting them. They were printouts from online, giving details of how many bedrooms and bathrooms, and there were pictures of the interior and exterior. Finally, my eyes landed on the neighborhoods. The pages were traded back and forth over and over until I saw an address I recognized. I slid it closer to Bella, tapping the page.

"This is big and in a good area," I suggested innocently, ignoring Jasper's shit-eating grin across the table.

Al chuckled. "Girls, take those papers and go look online at them. You'll see more pictures and stuff. If you pick one now, I can start the process with little to no fuss."

"The laptop's in the kitchen," Jasper told them, and both girls got up from the table to go look. He turned to me. "And the fact that the house you like is right around the corner from Casa de Cullen..."

"Bite me, asshat," I growled, flipping him off. "It's close to you, too, you know."

"Believe me, I know," Jasper said with a laugh. "You'd better pray that's the one they choose. Otherwise, they'll be _all_ the way across fucking town."

I huffed, turning to my uncle, who couldn't contain his chuckle. "What? You got something to say?"

Al grinned, holding his hands up in surrender. "No, sunshine. The business end of things will be done as soon as the girls give me the go ahead." When I started to get up, he stopped me, glancing between me and Jasper. "Don't. Don't push them. Let them pick this on their own, boys. This is...important. A little bit of freedom that they'll be able to get back. Got me?" His face was somber, not bending at all on this.

"Fine, Al," Jasper conceded, and I could tell this was bugging him a bit, too. He slapped my shoulder with the back of his hand. "Come on, Ed. We'll start laundry. It's our turn."

As we got up, Al's phone rang out, filling the quiet house with the song "Maneater" by Hall and Oates. Jasper and I cracked the fuck up.

"Tell Aunt Jane I said hello," I snorted, walking toward the stairs to grab the laundry basket from my bathroom.

"That cow is not your aunt!" he growled, standing up from the table and answering his phone. "Chambers!"

~oOo~

The first load was started by the time I walked into the kitchen for something to drink. The girls had moved the laptop out onto the back deck to enjoy the little bit of sunshine we were getting. Al was pacing in the backyard, the phone still up to his ear as he continued to argue with his ex. She was a shameless leech, but he rarely gave in, only when it had to do with Katie.

He finished his call with a defeated sigh. "Someone needs to stake that vamp through her still, cold heart."

I snorted softly before taking a long drink from the bottle of water I'd snatched out of the fridge.

The girls chuckled at him but went back to the computer.

"Well, ladies, what'll it be?" he asked them.

"This one," Bella stated handing him one of the pages, and not for the first time did I wish I could read her mind. I wanted to know which house they'd picked. "We researched a few areas. We think this works close to everything we need."

"Excellent choice," he said, sitting with them at the table. "Who's this?" he asked, pointing to the laptop screen.

"Our Gran," Alice said softly. "Edward said we could look at these old pictures until we finally moved, so we figured we'd go through them one more time."

Al nodded, glancing between the girls and the computer. "He's right. You shouldn't keep them." His gaze was warm, the same expression he wore when talking to Rose. Reaching over, he popped out the storage card from the side of my laptop. "However," he said with a whisper, picking up Bella's hand and pressing the card in it, "I'm gonna give you a little advice, okay?" They both nodded vehemently before he went on. "When you move into your new place, I want you to set up a box...something secret, something hidden. It needs to be portable, easily accessed if you're in a hurry. That way, if you have to move quickly, it can be grabbed. Bella, that gun of yours, this SD card, and your DOJ paperwork should all be in there."

"But Edward said—" Bella started, and my uncle cut her off.

"He's following the rules. I don't always do that. Understand?" he explained with a snicker and wink. "You can't show them to anyone you meet from this point on. Ever. But you can hold onto them."

My chest hurt with the way that Alice and Bella looked to each other and then to my uncle, diving into his arms for a hug. He was breaking an extremely stiff rule for them, and probably because they'd become more than just a WitSec detail. He was doing it because he truly cared.

"Speaking of rule breaking," he mused, rubbing his goatee. "Girls, I know where you stand with my boys, and I've talked to them already. I haven't spoken to you. Do you understand how important it is that your relationships not go public immediately?" he asked, waiting until they nodded. "Good. This isn't just to maintain your new identities, but to insure the safety of my boys. I can't have your old selves traced to them through already existing relationships, like family or coworkers. You must 'meet' them in Seattle as Alice and Bella Swan. And considering the boys have been gone a few months, you'll have to allow some time to pass before you can be introduced to anyone they know. Does that make sense?"

"Complete sense," Alice agreed.

Bella simply nodded, gazing down longingly at the little card in her hand. "Would we be a threat to their friends and family?" she asked him. "To you?"

"Very little frightens me anymore, sweet one, so don't you worry about me," he soothed her, his brow furrowing a little as he cupped her chin. "I'm doing everything in my power to make this go as smoothly as possible. This isn't the first time a handler and his witness have...crossed the professional line, and I'm damned certain it won't be the last. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it isn't advertised."

"But if we're seen, if someone recognizes us..." Bella started, sighing deeply, and Alice looked just as worried with that voiced concern.

"Bella, Alice, look at me," he commanded gently. "We've moved you clear across the country, the heat is off you due to Felix turning on Volturi, and you're in a completely different, yet enormous city. The likelihood of someone making you is slim. I'd be willing to bet my life on that," he vowed.

He met my gaze through the window, smirking like the ass he was, only to lean into the girls to say something I couldn't hear. Yeah, definitely gonna punch the shit out of him one day, I was pretty sure.

However, whatever he said calmed them both down, and they nodded and smiled, thanking him again.

"Which one did they pick?" Jasper asked in a whisper, suddenly appearing at my side.

"Not sure. He's been talking to them about how to reveal us together, but later," I told him, shrugging a shoulder.

"Oh." Jasper frowned, but nodded. He was quiet for a second. "I wanna know."

Grinning, I shook my head, leading him out onto the deck with everyone else.

"Ah, gentlemen," Al greeted cheesily. "I was just telling the girls all about their new neighborhood." He was a puffed-up prick as he held up the now-folded piece of paper. "Make sure to invite them to the block party."

Bella snorted, turning to me with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, you live near that one?"

"Well...I...I was purely thinking safety, Bella," I hedged.

Jasper nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. We'll be close should something happen."

Alice snorted, looking to Bella at the same time Uncle Al stood up.

"I'm outta here. I'll contact you as soon as I've secured your place," he told the girls before walking back into the house.

Alice and Jasper followed him, but Bella stood in front of me. "You want us that close? I mean...you're sure, Edward? 'Cause if you're not, tell me now."

I huffed a laugh through my nose, thinking how I wasn't sure I wanted them even that far away. "Yes. I want to be able to get to you if you need us, and maybe I'm...selfish."

Bella bit her bottom lip, smiling a little. "Hmm," she mused, eyeing me like I was in trouble, and I shifted nervously. "I believe I told you once that it was okay to be a little selfish, Edward. And that seemed to have worked out okay, right?"

I couldn't stop the pompous grin that spread over my face if I tried, because the selfish moment she was referring to had resulted in the most fuck-awesome Fourth of July blow job on the damn planet.

"Yeah, it kinda did," I murmured, still smiling.

"Mmhm," she hummed, leaning up to kiss my cheek. "So, you'll help a girl move?"

Chuckling, I wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her up off the deck floor, and started to drag her inside. "Baby," I whispered against her temple, "you didn't even have to ask."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: SO MUCH talking in this one, but really important conversations. They're back in Forks, but not for long. Bella and Edward's talk about his ink was about more than just his ink, but these two are dealing with a helluva lot of doubt and a future that's shaky. Inside, they've admitted their feelings, but not so easy to do verbally with all they've been through and all they've yet to deal with. Those two are so alike in many, many ways. Expressing themselves physically instead of out loud is one of them.**

**And Uncle Al is doing his damndest to make it go as smoothly as possible. He's a sly old man, for real. LOL**

**I can't even discuss recs right now. I've got several updates sitting in my inbox, and my TBR list is scary – just frightening. My dream is to one day bury myself in the covers and read and read and read. I'll let you know if that ever happens. The odds are not in my favor, I don't think. ;)**

**[Note from Jenny: I think some of you haven't checked out my personal fics yet, so please, give those a shot if you're looking for stuff to read. ;) Link to my profile is on our Favorite Authors list. ;) ]**

**Okay, so we'll see you Wednesday for chapter 23. Remember, all links to FB, Twitter, my blog, and pics are on our profile. Thanks for all your support, reviews, and conversations on FB. Until next time... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N #1: First, thank you guys so much for your reviews. They're always so much fun to read! :) Second, the block party reference last chapter was just a joke. How they "meet" is really cute, in my opinion, but it'll be a few chapters. ;) There's a lot to come between now and then, I promise.**

**Okay, enjoy the move to Seattle, and see Deb at the bottom. Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 23**

**Bella POV**

We'd been in Forks for four days, waiting for Al to give us a call about the house being ready. He'd finally called just a few hours ago, telling us the house was ready for us and we needed to be up in Seattle the next day. That gave us twenty-four hours to pack up everything from the house here, twenty-four hours to spend with the boys, and twenty-four hours to say goodbye to someplace that had begun to feel like home from all the time we'd spent here. I wasn't looking forward to leaving, although finally getting settled would be a welcome change. As much as Forks had felt like home, the house wasn't ours. We hadn't personalized it at all, and I was looking forward to being able to find and hang pictures I thought were pretty, or picking out new bed linens and covers that matched my style.

Edward and Jasper had offered to pack up all the kitchen stuff we'd bought so Alice and I wouldn't have to start completely over with dishes and cookware if the furnished house we were renting didn't come complete with things like that. While they packed those boxes, Alice and I were each going through our clothes and packing those.

We didn't have a lot – most of our clothes from New York had apparently been picked through by the local Marshal's office and sent to the the office in Seattle. Anything without our names or initials – anything to tie them to our old lives – was already there waiting for us, and that included some of Alice's CDs and my books. Al had said it wasn't standard procedure, but given the way the trial had turned out and the fact that we were clear across the country, he felt it was okay. We would have to start over with new tablets so any books or music we bought were in our new names, but that wouldn't be a huge deal. Everything else – furniture, dishes, appliances, and most of our jewelry – had been sold and used to pay off what little credit card debt we'd accrued.

Al had also promised he would save our parents' wedding and engagement rings so we could do something with them. Alice and I had talked at length about it and decided we would get them melted down into a new design with the diamonds in new settings and keep them as earrings for Alice and a necklace for me. That way, they looked completely different, but we would know they were there and what they'd been. Al had told us to let him know what we wanted and he would take care of it personally.

As I folded one last T-shirt and placed it in the box, there was a knock on the door frame. I looked up to see Edward leaning casually against it, feet crossed at the ankles and thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans.

"Hey." I smiled, feeling my heart squeeze as he broke into a smile of his own and came farther into the room to put his arms around me.

"How's it going?" he asked, nuzzling the top of my head.

I shrugged, gesturing to the bed. "It's going. I'm pretty much done. I kept out one outfit to put on in the morning, but everything else is packed." I laughed dryly, the lack of humor evident. "Pretty sad that most of my entire life has been reduced to two boxes."

Edward's hands moved up and down my arms in a soothing gesture. "They're just things, baby. You gotta remember that." He tilted my face up with a finger under my chin. "It's what's in here—" he tapped my chest over my heart "—that matters. That hasn't changed. The name, the...stuff..." He shrugged. "That's all it is. Stuff."

Nodding, I tried to smile, but when that failed, I snuggled back into his chest. "I know. I really do." Sighing, I realized there was something I wanted to do before we left Forks. "Can we..."

At my pause, his chest rumbled as he asked, "Can we...what, Bella?"

"Can we go to the meadow? I mean, do we have time?"

"Yeah, of course. If we go now, we can be back just in time for dinner. I think Alice mentioned something about wanting to go out, all four of us, to the Lodge."

I smiled at the thought of the "fancy" restaurant in town. It was loads more casual than a lot of places I'd been to in New York, but they made a mean steak, and the people there were friendly. "Sounds good," I said, pulling away and reaching for my sneakers. "Give me two minutes and I'll be ready."

Edward smiled and nodded at the door. "I'll go let them know we're going out, but will be back in time to go to dinner."

He left the room, and I rushed to the bathroom, using the toilet and washing my hands before pulling my shoes on over my socks. By the time I got downstairs, Edward was waiting on the back porch, staring out over the trees.

"Pretty day," I said, moving up beside him.

Slipping his hand into mine, he led me off the porch, into the grass. "Yeah, it's beautiful out here when it's sunny."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I've gotten used to the clouds, though. It's still pretty, just not in the same way, I guess, when it's gray and rainy. Everything's so green here. I love it."

As we walked through the woods to get to the clearing, we were quiet, listening to the small animals scampering about and the birds echoing in the trees above us. My mind was on a constant loop, worry over getting settled and being apart from Edward after living with him for three months being the primary thought. I also couldn't stop thinking of Al's whispered words to Alice and me during his last visit. He'd said we were good for the boys, that he was amazed at the changes in both of them – especially Edward – and to not worry about the things that were about to change. He'd promised to keep the boys in line for us. At the time, it had made us giggle, but now... Now, I couldn't help but worry that the changes Al saw in Edward would go away once we got to Seattle. We wouldn't be living together, wouldn't be together nearly twenty-four hours a day like we'd grown used to. He would go back to his job, back to his family and his life before me. The bars, the women... I didn't want to feel like I was holding him back. I knew he wouldn't cheat on me – I trusted him and knew him well enough to know he wasn't that kind of man – but I was afraid that he would feel stuck with me and wouldn't know how to end it.

"I can hear the gears turning in that mind, beautiful," Edward said, pulling me into the middle of the meadow.

I looked around, surprised that we'd reached it already. Shrugging, I took a seat beside him in the grass and sighed. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he huffed, pulling me down so we were lying on our sides facing one another. "I wish I could read your mind," he grumbled almost to himself. "Talk to me, baby. You were a million miles away the whole walk here."

"I..." I shook my head, trying to figure out what I wanted to say. After a moment, I finally said, "I'm scared things are gonna change."

Edward reached out and pulled me to him. His legs tangled with mine as he propped his head up on one hand, the other reaching around to rub up and down my spine before settling at my waist. "They will change," he admitted softly, "but that doesn't mean it'll be a bad change."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my brows furrowing.

"We're going back to the real world, baby. There's no getting around that. And for a while, that means we will be living separately, seeing each other in an official capacity when we need to and personally on the down low when we _want_ to. But Bella, we'll still see a lot of each other, especially since we'll live so close – hell, we're practically gonna be neighbors. We won't be able to go out together for a while, and you can't come to my place yet, but that doesn't mean I can't pick up dinner for us and come over if you want me to."

"I want you to," I interrupted quickly, squeezing him close and making him chuckle.

He leaned in and kissed me softly. "I'll be there, then."

"I'm scared about starting over," I admitted softly. "There's _so much_ to think about – driver's license, job, car, bank account, credit card...and those are just the big things. There's lots of little things, too. Finding my way around town, getting a library card, shopping for clothes for work – assuming I can find something – and play." I was beginning to panic, my breaths coming out shorter and shorter. "The list seems endless, and I—"

Edward placed a finger over my lips to stop me from continuing. "Breathe, baby," he said in a sweet, calm voice. Once I was breathing steadily, he continued. "Remember what I told you before? You aren't alone, Bella. For one thing, you'll have Alice, but beautiful, you'll have Jasper and me, too. We're gonna be there to help you with everything you need. We'll help secure you a vehicle until you're able to buy one. I'll scour over the want ads with you if you want. I'll play tour guide, pointing out everything you might need, from the grocery store, to the local yoga studio..." He waggled his eyebrows, making me giggle. "Whatever you need, I'll be there."

Like aloe vera on a sunburn, his words soothed my fears, at least for the moment. My shoulders and back unknotted, leaving me feeling relaxed and nearly boneless in his arms as he resumed the slow movement up and down my spine.

We were quiet for a while, sharing gentle kisses and listening to the sounds of nature as we enjoyed the sunshine. A hawk called out as it flew overhead, breaking the silence for a moment.

"I'm gonna miss Forks – and this place," I huffed, reaching out to brush my hand over the grass by our heads. "I've loved it here." Inside, I wished we could stay in Forks forever, but with Edward's job, that wasn't possible, I knew.

Edward's smile was blinding. "Baby, nothing says we can't come back here after you've been formally introduced to my family. You've only been Bella and Alice Swan here in town, so no one knows you from your previous life."

"Yeah?" I asked, feeling almost giddy that we didn't have to give up what had become a sanctuary in the crazy storm of the last three months.

"Yeah," he murmured, kissing me softly. "I'm glad you love it as much as I do."

I nodded. "I do," I said with a sigh, raising my head from his arm to look around. "Promise we can come back?"

He smiled gently. "Yeah, B. I promise."

"Good." I pushed up to a sitting position, uncomfortable from lying on the hard ground for so long.

"Ready to go back?" Edward asked as he sat up, too.

"Yeah, I think so. Next time, we'll have to bring a few blankets to put down," I said with a laugh, brushing myself off once he'd helped me to my feet.

Edward laughed and nodded before taking my hand and leading me back into the trees.

~oOo~

Dinner out with the four of us had been a lot of fun. We'd all dressed up instead of going in what had become our standard clothing – T-shirt and jeans. Apparently, Alice and Jasper had gone shopping while Edward and I were at the meadow, and she'd picked out a pretty dress to go with a pair of the shoes I'd gotten for the trial. The dress had fit her except in length, and when I'd tried it on, it had been perfect. Edward and Jasper had worn slacks and dress shirts, although they'd both rolled the sleeves up.

I was glad to be ho—back at the house, though, because Edward had been unable to keep his hands to himself all evening. At first, it had been light touches to my bare arms and shoulders. Then at the table, once hidden by the long tablecloth, his hand had slid up under the hem of my dress to rest on my thigh. He hadn't gone any farther up than that, but his fingers were...very long, and by the time the check came, my panties were so wet, I was afraid when I stood up, I'd have a spot on the back of my dress.

It hadn't helped any that the waitress had been all over him, flirting and trying to get his attention. She'd called him handsome – _"Can I tell you the specials, handsome?"_ and _"How'd you enjoy your dinner, handsome?"_ – and had even tried to slip him her number with the check. He'd ignored her advances, keeping his attention focused on me, but it had still pissed me off. I'd been _right there,_ and she'd still flirted with him. Of course, along with the anger had come the pride that he wasn't able to keep his hands off me, that he hadn't paid her a bit of attention, and it was those two facts that had kept me wet for him the whole drive back to the house.

"You're too gorgeous," I told him as I slid off my shoes. My entire body felt alive, like I could still feel his fingers on my skin, and the thought was nearly making me tremble. "Didn't you see the way the waitress was looking at you? Like she wanted you inside her."

"You're the beautiful one," he said, turning me to face the mirror. "I wanna be inside _you._" He pressed against my ass as his hand trailed down my cheek, my neck, my chest. "Can't you tell?"

"God, Edward." My breaths came out quicker, my heart pounding beneath his hand. I leaned back against his chest and lowered my hands.

He slid the narrow strap of my dress down my shoulder and stroked the skin of my upper arm. Capturing my gaze in the mirror, he bent his head and placed a string of light kisses along the nape of my neck. My shiver was all the encouragement he needed.

I squirmed beneath his touch, and he released me, nudging me forward just enough to get his hand between us. Gently, he worked down my zipper, then stooped and kissed my shoulder blade. First one, then the other. I held my breath, and he smiled, caressing my body beneath the loosened material. He traveled north across my rib cage, stroking upward until he found my breast and cupped it in his palm. I trembled beneath his touch, and his smile grew.

With his other hand, he eased the second strap down my arm, and the dress pooled onto the carpet. The reflection in the mirror of me wearing nothing but a tiny blue thong held his gaze. He hooked his thumbs into the scrap of material. My eyes fluttered closed as he grazed his fingers between the fabric and my skin.

The spell broke when I stretched up, arching my back and thrusting out my breasts. I slipped my hand behind his neck and weaved my fingers into his hair. He swept his hands up my body, his cock throbbing harder against my lower back and ass with each caress.

"Turn around, baby."

My nipples tightened as he rubbed his fingertips across their hard points, my arousal almost dripping down my thighs at his next words.

"I ache for you to come all over my cock."

I wanted that...so bad...but I wanted to touch him more. "Not yet," I whispered, shaking my head.

He was still as I reached out and slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt, pushing it off his shoulders until it hit the floor. The low light in the room put the hard planes of his chest and stomach in shadows, but I was still able to see enough details that I nearly drooled.

I trailed my fingernails from his shoulders down his torso and stopped at the brown discs of his nipples. Stepping closer, I bowed my head and brushed across each peak with my tongue as my hands followed the arrow of reddish-brown hair to his belt. With a flick of my fingers, I released the thin leather strap. He gasped as I slid my hand into his waistband.

The rasp of his zipper filled the silence in the room. I glanced up to see his hooded eyes watching my every move. I tugged the pants over his muscular ass, dragging his boxer briefs along with them. The mushroomed head of his cock popped out, purple and swollen, and my entire body clenched in anticipation.

I skimmed my hands along his thighs, guiding the slacks down his legs, and slowly sank to my knees. His rigid cock grazed my cheek, the soft skin like velvet over steel. Nestling into him, I swirled my tongue against the coarse hairs. I lapped at his balls, luxuriating in his all-male aroma, before sucking one into my mouth.

He groaned when I glided my tongue up his shaft, along the rigid veins, and he clutched my shoulders as I licked a drop of pre-come from the tip. With my hands on his thighs, I sucked the thick head into my mouth, loving the way his legs trembled.

"Fuck, baby, I can't take this." His voice rasped from deep within his chest, but I knew he was strong enough to take this and more, so I didn't let up.

He pulled my braid loose with one hand, his other still digging into my shoulder, and combed his fingers through my hair.

I continued to tease my lips over him, nibbling at the head, laving the tender underside of the crown, softly humming, and sucking harder on each upstroke. My desire grew as I consumed him faster and faster, swallowing him deeper with each caress.

"Shit, Bella, you have to stop." He maneuvered his hands under my arms and pulled me up. "Anything. I'll do anything you want, but if you keep doing that, I'm gonna come."

"I want you to," I said with a frown.

"No, baby. Not yet." He pulled me close. "I haven't tasted you yet."

My insides clenched at the heat in his words.

He leaned forward, caressing his palms along the curves of my breasts, my torso, and lower until he arrived at my hips. With a devilish smile, he tangled his fingertips in the curls between my thighs. I moaned as electric shocks streaked through my clit, and my hips jerked.

I rocked against him, craving his touch, but then he pulled his hand away.

His smile softened as he stood there in front of me, and I took a step closer, glanced into his eyes, and gasped. In their depths was something familiar, an emotion I was afraid to put a name to. I shivered, and that broke whatever spell he'd found himself under.

He pulled me into his arms. "Cold?"

I shook my head and then stretched up, my nipples sliding against his chest, and kissed him. He clutched me tighter and then scooped me up into his arms. In a few long strides, he stood at the side of the bed and lowered me onto the center of the blanket.

As he looked down at me, his fingertips skimmed along the curve of my hip as my legs fell open, exposing me to his gaze. I was still – barely – covered by the thong, and I could feel how wet I'd made it as I reached down to trace my finger over it.

Edward growled. "I love watching you touch yourself, Bella, but this time, I wanna unwrap you."

He slid onto the bed, bracing his arms on either side of me, and swung his body between my wide-spread thighs. He kissed my lips, along my cheek, moving lower to my throat. I wiggled and tried to thrust my hips against him, but he caught me and held me still.

"It's my turn to have a little fun." He sucked my nipple into his mouth, swirling the peak with his tongue until I moaned.

My body shook from my head to my toes, and I reached for his cock. He reared up just enough to stop contact.

Edward kissed his way down my body, laving at my navel, and then lower until he reached the apex of my thighs.

The wet thong came away easily from my slick body, and he slid it down to my knees. I pulled one leg up until he could slide the tiny piece of blue material over my foot, leaving it hooked on one leg.

My pussy was wet and throbbing as he ran an index finger between my folds, making me moan. My hips bucked as he slid his finger up and down along my slit, barely grazing my clit.

He lowered his shoulders, nestled between my thighs, and traced his mouth along the skin of my inner thigh until he reached my center. Slowly, he sucked first one of my lower lips and then the other into his mouth, nibbling gently.

I grabbed the rails of the headboard and rose to meet his face, but he pinned my hips in place.

"I want you to come on my tongue, beautiful," he murmured, the vibrations against my clit making me jolt.

He dipped his index finger inside me, curling it just right. I moaned and my muscles clenched around him, holding him tight. He edged out and then slipped two fingers back in, twisting and turning, curling them again to stroke just right.

"Fuck, Edward. No more torture," I begged, my words coming out strangled as he flicked his tongue over my clit. When he sucked it into his mouth and pressed harder with his fingers, I shattered, coming hard on his face and hand.

After a moment, his fingers slid out of me, and he wiped my wetness from his face and repositioned himself between my thighs. A hand on each of my calves, he lifted them and hiked my ankles onto his shoulders.

His cock rubbed over my still-sensitive clit for a moment, until he reached between our bodies and guided himself inside me. I gripped his thighs, urging him to move. He thrust in hard, causing ripples of desire to spread throughout my body, and I clenched around him.

Apparently, that was all it took, and he was unable to hold back any longer. Edward began pumping harder and faster, driving into me with a ferocity I'd been needing since he'd started touching me in front of the mirror. With a gasping cry, his thrusts faltered as he came.

Limbs shaking, he sank onto the mattress, holding me tight as we waited for our breathing to even out.

~oOo~

Wednesday morning, we were all quiet as we ate a quick breakfast that Edward had run out to pick up from the diner. None of us wanted to go, but we knew we needed to leave for Seattle as soon as we could.

"Ready to go?" Edward murmured into my ear as I dumped the remains of my breakfast in the garbage.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess I have to be, huh?"

He held me close for a moment until Jasper came in to grab the trash bag. We'd asked the diner if we could drop off one bag of trash into their dumpster on our way out of town, and they'd agreed easily. The house was clean, and once Edward set all the security shutters, no one would ever be able to tell we'd been there.

As Edward pulled the car out of the garage and turned to drive down the long driveway, I turned in my seat and took one last look at the beautiful house. I could only hope that he'd been right and we'd be able to come back one day, because I knew I was going to miss it.

Once the car turned a curve in the driveway and the house slipped out of view, I turned back to face front, smiling when Edward's hand reached over and took mine.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

As I drove through the streets, everyone in the car was too fucking quiet. It was nerves and changes, I was sure of it. The back of the car was packed to the damn top with everything the girls had accumulated since we'd taken them from the East Coast.

Taking the last turn down their street, I realized they weren't just near my place, but they were barely a fifteen minute drive. I started to reconsider whether Al needed that punch in the face after all. He'd picked this place on purpose. I pulled into the driveway of the little cottage with a shake of my head, because to look at it, the little house just about screamed the girls' names. It was an off-white trimmed in baby blue, with a small front porch, and the drive went all the way to the back of the house to the garage below a deck.

The garage was open when I shut off the car, turning to Bella next to me and then Alice in the back seat. Both were wide-eyed as they took in their new home.

"Ready?" I asked, wanting to chuckle because they looked more than a little excited and just a touch scared.

Bella nodded fervently and then swallowed nervously when someone stepped out the back door and through the open garage.

Picking up her hand, I said, "Relax. That'll be the landlady. Remember? Al said she'd meet us here to sign the lease and hand you the keys. Umm..."

"Granger? No, Grayson," Jasper said. "Betty Grayson."

"Right." I glanced between the girls. "She's your first test as Bella and Alice _Swan_. You guys can do this. You were kinda doing it in Forks already. This is just the first of many real steps. Okay?"

Once the girls nodded, we all stepped out of the car. I smiled at the older lady in front of us. She had to be pushing mid to late sixties, but she gave off a calm, sweet vibe. Her dark, curly hair was cut short and had a touch of gray, and her hazel eyes were twinkling as she smiled.

"Hi. You must be Alice and Bella," she greeted the girls first. "Now, which is which?"

"Bella," my girl said, stepping forward and shaking her hand.

"Alice," her sister copied. "You must be Mrs. Grayson. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, stop. It's _Betty. _I insist." She smiled at the two of them and then looked to Jasper and me.

"Jasper Whitlock, ma'am," he crooned, kicking that Southern accent into overdrive, and I almost laughed out loud because it took her off guard.

"Oh, gracious," she stammered, smiling at him and then gazing up at me. "Which must make you Edward. Al's told me all about _you_."

"Oh hell," Alice, Bella, and Jasper muttered all at the same time.

I grimaced but shook her hand. "Pay no attention to my uncle. Please."

She chuckled, patting the top of my hand. "All good, sweetie. I promise. Al and I go back a long way. Now, let's show you around, yeah?"

I gave her a half-smile and shot a glance at Jasper. Again, Al had set the girls up with someone he knew, someone he trusted, and I'd have been willing to bet that she knew why we were there. In fact, she asked few questions as she showed us around the house.

The house was really nice, with three bedrooms and three baths. There were hardwood floors throughout the living room and dining room, covered with expensive rugs. The furniture was comfortable, mostly using dark woods and neutral tones. The kitchen had the same wood floors, but looked like it had been recently renovated, with stark white cabinets and appliances, but the countertops were a solid dark gray marble.

The largest bedrooms were carpeted in beige, and they both had French doors leading out to a deck that overlooked the garage and small backyard. The girls were in love instantly. But they were head-over-heels when they saw the bathrooms – double vanities, garden tub with spray jets, and a separate shower. By the time we made it back to the kitchen where the lease was on the counter waiting to be signed, the girls were practically giddy, and Betty was just about to adopt the two of them as her own.

She set down the lease and looked between the two of them. "Feel free to move things around, decorate with your own touches. I don't mind. Most every room as been recently repainted and the roof is new. But if you want to change the bedding in the bedrooms, I'll totally understand." She smiled at them when the girls nodded. "Good. We'll just get you all signed up."

The girls didn't even hesitate with signing their new names. They flew through the lease as Jasper and I hung back a little. Betty folded up the papers once they were finished and handed over two sets of keys.

"Now, I'm not far if you need me – just across the street, two doors down. I know you're new to the area, so if you need anything, let me know." It was then that Betty gave me and Jasper a look that said she knew why we were all there. "Oh, and I wasn't sure if you had time for lunch, so I put a few things in the fridge for you."

"Thanks, Betty," Bella said, shaking her hand one more time.

"Any friends of Al's are friends of mine," she sang, giving a wave as she made her way toward the front door. I could see she was going to walk back to her home.

"May I see you home, Betty?" I offered, because it didn't seem right for her to walk alone – decent neighborhood or not. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, one of the important things my mom had taught me about how to treat a lady.

She smiled when I opened the front door. "Thank you, Edward." We stepped onto the front lawn and across the street before she piped up with, "You want to know how I know Al, right?"

I laughed softly. "Well, it doesn't surprise me, considering he seems to know every-damn-body."

She giggled, a light, young sound coming from her, but her eyes seemed sad for a split second. "My husband, Harold, was a U.S. marshal. He was killed in the line of duty. They said it was his fault, but Al fought it tooth and nail, making sure I was still taken care of after he passed."

We stopped at her front steps and both turned toward the house we'd just left. I wasn't sure what to say to that, but it sounded like something Al would do.

"We raised three kids in that house. They're all grown up with families of their own now." She pointed to her current residence. "We'd bought this one to rent, but after Harold died, I couldn't stay another minute in the old house – too many memories, too many ghosts."

I nodded, shoving my hands into my front pockets, but then I gasped. "Harold Grayson!" My mouth hung open. "I've heard that story. He was on a fugitive recovery. The big issue was that he allowed the guy to get by him. He was shot."

She nodded once. "Yeah. But the reason he let the guy by him was there was a family inside the gas station he'd hidden in. Harold didn't want them in danger. It was better to let the guy go and continue the chase than to possibly shoot an innocent child."

"I'd have done the same thing," I admitted with a shrug.

"And that's what Al told everyone that would listen. That Harold wasn't letting the fugitive escape, he was saving innocent lives."

"I'm sorry for your loss, though," I told her.

She smiled, patting my shoulder. "Al was right about you. He said you weren't what the outside appeared to be." She gestured to the ink on my arm. "He also said those girls could use some mothering."

Chuckling, I nodded. "Yeah, they probably could." I held my hand out to her again. "It's an honor to have met you, Betty."

"Oh, Edward, I have a feeling I'll be seeing you around," she sang teasingly, giving me a wink before she stepped inside her front door.

Smiling again, I shook my head and made my way back across the street. The car was wide open, and I found Jasper with an armload to take inside.

"She knows," he surmised.

"Oh, yeah," I agreed with a nod. "She knows. Her husband was Harold Grayson."

His eyebrows shot up. "No fucking way!"

I simply laughed, grabbing a bunch of stuff from the trunk. I dropped one box that was marked "kitchen" onto the counter next to another one and toted the other into what Bella had deemed her bedroom. I found her staring at the bed, chewing the ever-loving shit out of her bottom lip. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she just started rambling.

"Stay with me...just one more night." She looked panicked. "I know you have family you wanna see and a house to get back to and shit you probably have to catch up on, but please?"

Frowning at this sudden change, I walked to the bed and sat down on the edge, pulling her between my legs, but she still babbled on.

"It's a new place, and I just...I'm kinda nervous. Please, Edward?"

We'd talked earlier in Forks, but I could see that reality was crashing down on us. We'd discussed not wanting to stop what was between us, despite the fact that we had to hide it for a bit. I was home, where I had family, a house of my own, a job, and established relationships, but she was completely new here and now essentially on her own. It was a huge change from not only being in New York, but going from being on the run and hidden twenty-four-seven to free to live her new life any way she saw fit.

Cupping either side of her face, I brought her lips to mine simply to calm her...and to shut her up. "Hush, beautiful. What did I tell you?"

"That I'm not alone, and that you're here as long as I want you here," she sighed, gliding her hands up and down my biceps.

"Yes. Exactly," I whispered against her lips, wishing like hell I could just keep her like this, always wanting me, needing me. Fuck, I would've begged to stay anyway.

"Well, I want you here. Tonight," she whispered, almost sounding sheepish for asking. "It'll just be...strange not having you in the house."

"Then, I'll gladly stay. Besides, I'd feel better once we have you up and established with at least one car, and you definitely need a phone. Both of you, actually."

She nodded but looked away from me. "I hate that I'm keeping you from everything. You've been away from them for so long. You have a brand new niece. I know they've missed you."

Grinning with pride at the mention of Ladybug, I nodded. "That's true. And even though it's a part of my job as your handler, I _wanna_ help you with this stuff, Bella. They can wait. You can't. I have plenty of time to see my family. But _you_," I told her, pulling her to my lap. "You need me. And I'm really okay with that."

"Really? Promise? You're not just saying that?" She was utterly adorable as she ran her fingers through my hair, giving me the sexy-as-hell smile that I could barely resist.

Chuckling, I kissed her until we were both breathless. "Absolutely," I whispered, dragging my lips across her cheek to her ear. "I think this bed needs...testing."

"Oh, yeah," she said, her barely audible voice cracking when my teeth scraped against her skin. "You might be right."

"I am right," I crooned, suckling her earlobe and smiling when she whimpered softly. "We have to make sure this mattress is sturdy."

She giggled, her head falling back a little, and I took advantage of the exposed skin on her throat.

"Bella?" I purred. "Never, ever be afraid to ask me for something, understand? No matter what." I pulled back to make sure she was listening, and deep, soulful brown met my gaze. "Promise me."

She leaned in and kissed my lips with the sweetest, softest kiss ever. "Promise."

~oOo~

"Oh, fuck me! Is that real, homemade oatmeal raisin?" Jasper groaned, tugging the tin full of cookies his way. "All my landlord ever gave me was a hard time when my water heater busted. He sure as shit wouldn't make me cookies...and fuck-awesome potato salad."

When Betty had said she'd left food for us, she hadn't been kidding. It was a shit-ton of sandwich stuff, some homemade cookies and potato salad, and fresh iced tea. The cookies, however, probably wouldn't survive the rest of the day.

I snorted, shaking my head and turning to Bella. "He's so easily pleased."

Both girls giggled, trying their best to hide it behind sandwiches and drinks.

"Shut up!" Jasper snarled. "Let's talk about what your landlady gave _you_, shall we?"

"I don't have a landlady anymore. I bought my house from her," I said smoothly, daring him to push that subject in present company. "She was in the middle of a nasty divorce and needed someone to buy the house before the husband could get his claws into it. She sold it to me for the remainder of the mortgage just to piss off the ex." I grinned at him, but Jasper snorted.

"A nasty divorce, huh?" Bella mused softly, her eyes narrowing on me. "Hmm...let's see if I can guess. Jasper, tell me if I'm wrong, but was she pretty?"

"Very. And young. A trophy wife, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh fuck," I sighed to myself, knowing I should just beat Jasper now and get it over with.

"And vengeful?"

"Oh, yes," he sang, grinning my way when I flipped him off.

"So I can imagine that there was more than one way to get back at a nasty soon-to-be ex-husband besides taking a loss on a property sale. Such as a young, handsome man..." Bella assumed, her gaze glued to my face.

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. And you were right in one!" Jasper praised, clapping his hands before shoving an entire cookie into his mouth.

"I hope you choke, asshole," I told him and then turned to Bella. "I told you I wasn't a saint."

"Obviously," Alice said with a laugh.

"And I needed a place to live," I argued. "I'd been there since the middle of my second year of college, almost a year, and didn't wanna move. My parents helped me buy it."

"Oh, well, that makes sense, then," Bella said with a nod.

"It does?" Alice asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah, it does," she said simply, shrugging a shoulder and locking gazes with me. "The homeowner wasn't the only vengeful one."

She knew. How she could possibly understand my anger issues after Maggie, I'd never know, but she did. Hell, she not only understood them, but she'd been the same way after her breakup with Mike. Whereas everyone had always judged my lifestyle after college, she didn't. And it was all I could do not to blurt out my love her right there at the kitchen counter.

Instead, I shoved the last bite of my sandwich in my mouth in order to shut myself up.

"We should show them around, Ed," Jasper offered, blessedly changing the subject.

I glanced up at the clock and finished off my Coke. "Actually, we could get a few things done while we're out," I mused softly with a slight nod. "They need phones ASAP. The banks aren't closed yet, and they'll need to know where the local stores are. You know, groceries and shit."

Alice huffed a laugh. "This isn't New York. We can't walk everywhere. We'll need a car, and soon."

"Yeah, well, let's see what we can do, yeah?" I grinned, shooing them off to get ready. "And bring all your new identification, ladies!" I called after them when they bolted down the hall. Turning to Jasper, I balled up a fist and punched his shoulder. Hard. "Asshat," I growled. "What the blue fuck were you thinking bringing up Desiree? You didn't even know me then! And it was one time!"

He cracked the fuck up, rubbing his arm. "Relax, Ed. I was just fucking with you. And obviously, Bella gets it."

"Yeah, well...fuck, she doesn't need it smashed in her face. It'll be fucked up enough if we ever run into anyone," I sighed, shaking my head and waving a hand at the lunch mess. "Clean this shit up. We've got things to do. And fucker, don't you dare eat all those cookies!"

I drove while Jasper helped the girls locate different things. It was a long, frustrating afternoon, but we accomplished a hell of a lot of shit. Despite the fact that the girls had driver's licenses from Washington, they needed to be updated with the correct address. Victoria had given them a bogus one temporarily. However, that didn't stop us from opening bank accounts or getting the girls some new cell phones. The latter was the most important for me; they needed to be able to call us. It wasn't negotiable.

Jasper, who was a whiz with computers, had us stop at an electronics store. The girls needed at least one laptop, which would run just fine from the Wi-Fi hotspot on their phones. From there, they could just about do anything else on their own – update their driver's licenses, order cable and real internet, or even order pizza delivery in a pinch. But they really needed it for job hunting and car shopping.

With every new step, every new secured piece of their lives that fell into place, the girls became more and more at ease with their names, who they were, and how to talk about themselves. Jasper and I would hang back, only there to interrupt if we felt the need, but we didn't have to. The girls nailed the entire afternoon as Alice and Bella Swan.

Food – both grocery store and restaurant – was the last thing on the list. The sun had set by the time we were making our way back to the girls' place. Jasper and I pointed out the best place for pizza, Chinese, and a damned good, cold beer – which was oh-so-tempting – but by the time we lugged two pizzas and an ass-load of groceries into the house, everyone was tired of being in the car.

It wasn't until after we'd eaten and shut ourselves off in her bedroom that I asked for her new phone. Leaning back against the headboard, I situated Bella between my legs. Alice had gone the iPhone route, but Bella had chosen a different smart phone. I scrolled through it, typing quickly as she watched.

"That's my actual, personal cell number, beautiful," I told her softly with a kiss to the side of her head. "I couldn't take it with me, so it's at my house. Besides my family, you're the only woman I've ever given that number to," I explained tentatively.

Bella turned around and straddled my lap, wearing the sweetest of smiles. "You're serious."

"Dead serious," I whispered, hoping she understood.

Bella looked down at the phone between us and then locked gazes with me. Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to my lips. "Then I feel honored, Edward." Then she did something that made me laugh. She ran her fingers through my hair, only to bring the phone up to snap a picture. "There!" she chirped. "With your handsome face, it's perfect. And when I'm missing you, I can look at you anytime I want."

My brow wrinkled at that last statement, and I cupped her chin. "You can talk to me anytime, too, Bella. Even if I can't talk, I'll text you. And that's not fair! I want my own picture."

I snatched the phone from her, loving that she was in my Batman T-shirt again. In fact, I never, ever wanted that son of a bitch back. It was hers. Always. I'd never be able to put it on again without growing hard. I took several pictures of her laughing, hiding, and reaching for the phone, but I was able to send them all to myself. It became a wrestling match for the damn thing at that point, but finally, we collapsed into a heap on the bed, and Bella turned the camera to both of our faces, quickly taking the shot.

"I want that one, too," I told her, waiting until she sent it off before I tugged the piece of technology from her hand and set it on the nightstand. "And I want you..."

She smiled, slipping her fingers into my hair as I crawled over her and braced my hands on the side of her head. "Well, we do have to test this mattress, Edward. You said so yourself."

Grinning, I nodded. "I did say that, didn't I?" I whispered, leaning down to kiss her. "Then we'd best get started."

~oOo~

I couldn't fucking sleep to save my life. Tugging on my jeans, I stepped lightly through the silent house. I checked locks, I made sure the windows were closed, and I walked the entire place, but I still felt off, wrong. Hell, I even stepped out into the garage. Nothing wasn't as it should be.

Grabbing a glass of milk and the last three cookies, I ate them standing in the kitchen, wracking my brain as to what was wrong with me. I wanted to chalk it up to a new place, or the fact that I was back in my hometown, but that didn't seem to be it. I rinsed the glass and set it in the sink, making my way back to the bedroom.

The bed was a twisted mass of covers and sheets – a fact that made me smile. We'd truly tested the bed. It had passed with flying colors. Bella was curled up on her side, reaching for where I'd been moments before, but it was the sweat on her wrinkled brow, the frown on her beautiful lips, and the heartbreaking sound she was making that made me slip back out of my jeans and back into bed.

"Edward, no," she whimpered, shivering under my touch.

"Shh, baby, I've got you," I whispered against her sweaty brow. "Sleep, beautiful."

She fought whatever demons were in her dreams, rolled over, and finally settled with her back to my chest. Pulling her close, I dropped light kisses to her bare shoulder, simply inhaling the scent of her that I'd grown to crave.

"You're okay," I soothed her.

Just when I thought she'd settled back down, my name hit the air, only this time, it didn't sound so desperate. It sounded needy.

"Edward, I love you."

My whole body froze, though I couldn't have moved had a nuclear explosion happened right outside the door. My heart ached, thudding heavily in my chest to the point I thought it would wake her with the feel of it pressed to her back. Squeezing my eyes closed, I dropped a kiss to her shoulder one more time.

"You shouldn't, Bella," I barely breathed across her skin, but holy fuck, did I want it. "You haven't even started living yet. You have no idea what's out there for you."

As if she heard me, a soft sob erupted from her, and for a split second, I thought she'd woken up, because she'd rolled back to face me. She wrapped herself around me like a limpet, but her eyes stayed closed. I couldn't keep my lips from her skin. I wanted to kiss every drop of sweat away and push away whatever had made her cry out. I wanted to wake her, make her say it again, to say the words back, but I couldn't. I was a fucking coward. The fear that she'd not meant it, that it was a dream, or that she was merely clinging to me out of habit from being together was too much to think about. In the dark, quiet bedroom, the monsters of my mind were out in full force, and I wasn't so sure that in the light of day, I'd be any different.

The tiny brunette held my heart in her hands, and she had no fucking clue. I was terrified that she'd realize just what was out there for her, that I'd be tossed aside like yesterday's garbage. I'd given my heart once, and it had been shit on and thrown back at me. I'd barely maintained my sanity. I wouldn't survive it if Bella did the same thing. She'd come to mean more than Maggie ever had, and I'd lay down my life for her. She just didn't know it.

Running my fingers through her hair, I held her close. "Fuck, baby, I really hope you mean that," I whispered against her forehead, smiling a little when she sighed in complete and utter contentment. "'Cause you have no idea what you've done to me."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Oh boy. Reality has officially crashed down on everyone. Like I said, there will be turbulence ahead on this flight, and the seat belt light is on. They've moved into Seattle and, thanks to Uncle Al, have acquired an awesome landlady. Betty... :D Family and jobs and all that will be coming into play very soon.**

**I know you're ready for admitted feelings, and they are trying, but as you can see, it's become almost second nature to avoid for these two.**

**There's a link to the pics for this chapter on our profile, so go check it out. We'll see you again on Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N #1: I'll make this short... We love you guys and thank you so much for your love and support of this story. Big hugs to all of you!**

**Here's a couple of notes from questions: We only write in Bella's & Edward's POV, so there will be no Alice or Jasper POVs in this story, sorry. You'll hear more about them in the upcoming chapters, though. ;) Also, you can simply imagine the conversations between Alice & Bella. Overall, this story is about Edward & Bella. So showing a lot of conversations between Alice & Bella just isn't needed or wanted from most readers.**

**Now, on to the chapter – it's a cute one. ;) Enjoy! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 24**

**Bella POV**

Thursday morning came entirely too quickly for me. I wasn't ready to let Edward go – for a variety of reasons. We'd spent most of the time in each other's arms, thoroughly breaking in my new bed. But now, the four of us were eating breakfast – Jasper's Breakfast-in-a-Bowl – and talking about our plans for the next few days.

"You're gonna see your family?" Alice asked Edward around a bite of eggs.

He nodded. "Probably not until Sunday when they get together for dinner as a group."

"That's great, Edward," I said quietly. "I know they miss you – and you get meet the new baby. That has to be exciting."

He agreed, squeezing my thigh gently as Alice continued to talk to Jasper about his plans.

I let their conversation flow around me as I thought about what little plans I had. Job search was of the highest priority. I'd done enough sitting around for the last few months. I missed working. And until I got a job, I had to rely on WitSec for money for everything – food, clothing, entertainment...personal items. That just didn't sit well with me. It wasn't how we'd been raised, to not pay our own way.

When I couldn't eat another bite, nerves and anxiety about Edward leaving making my stomach roil, I pushed away my bowl and scooted away from the table. Grabbing my mug of tea, I said, "I'm gonna go sit out on the deck." When Edward started to stand, I glanced at his still-half full bowl and shook my head. "Stay. Finish your breakfast."

He nodded silently, sitting back on his chair as I made my way out the back door.

The morning sun was warm as I settled into the loveseat and set my cup on the patio table. It was a great view from our new deck. There were lots of trees out back, so there was some of the green I'd gotten so used to in Forks, and while the neighbors to the sides were close, there was enough space that I didn't feel hemmed in.

A shadow fell over me just before Edward took a seat beside me. The wicker creaked as he leaned forward to put his cup of coffee down beside my tea on the table and then settled back, tucking me into his side with an arm around my shoulder.

"It's pretty out here," he said a few minutes later, breaking the silence that up until that point had only been upset by chirping birds and the occasional sound of a car in the neighborhood.

"Mmhmm," I agreed. "I like the trees."

"You didn't eat much," he stated, sounding mildly worried and curious.

I shrugged. "Just not very hungry, I guess."

"It's gonna be fine, baby," he reminded me, squeezing my shoulder. "You worried about finding a job?"

Shrugging again, I said, "A little, yeah."

Edward pressed a kiss to my temple. "You'll find one, Bella. If you run into problems, Al can help you out, if nothing else. The man has connections every-damn-where, I swear it."

"I know!" I chuckled. "I won't ask how our new landlady knows him, but it's no coincidence he included this house in the list he gave us, is it?"

Smirking, Edward shook his head. "Not in the least."

In truth, I wasn't sure how much of what Al, Edward, and Jasper had done and were continuing to do for us was normal witness protection protocol and how much was personal. I was a little afraid to ask, worried about how I'd handle the truth, what it might mean. What I did know was that neither Alice nor I would have gotten through the last couple of months without them – both physically and emotionally.

The thought of losing that now, that personal touch, the relationship, had me leaning back against Edward and taking a deep breath. The idea of him moving on, of forgetting about me now that he was home, was like a punch in the gut. And it was that fear that kept me from just blurting out that I'd fallen in love with him.

We were still sitting there quietly when Jasper opened the back door and poked his head out.

"Ready to get goin', Ed? Bags are loaded."

I bit my lip to keep the tears from coming as Edward shifted behind me.

"Yeah, man," he said. "Give me a couple."

"Sure. I'll be inside."

Once Jasper closed the door, Edward pulled me onto his lap, grunting as I narrowly missed his crotch with my foot.

"Sorry," I said with a chuckle as I wrapped myself around him.

"Worth it," he sang, rocking me against him.

"You'll text me?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Call?"

He nodded vigorously. "Yeah, definitely. And _you'll_ text or call _me_ if you need me or just want to talk, right?"

"Yeah," I answered against his lips when he pulled me close.

His kiss was slow and sweet, neither of us rushing or deepening it, just savoring the moment.

"We'll be back here tomorrow with your things from Al," he finally said when we broke apart and stood. "But call if you need _anything,_ Bella. Got me?"

"I know, Edward. I will," I assured him.

He led us through the house to the front door, where Jasper had Alice in his arms. They were speaking in low voices and looked up when we stepped up to them.

"Ready?" Jasper asked, looking at Edward. When he nodded, Jasper said, "Ladies, we'll see you tomorrow."

Alice and I echoed our goodbyes, gripping each other's hands as the guys walked out to the car, which Jasper had told us he was going to turn in after dropping Edward off at home. We waited in the doorway, waving as they backed out of the driveway and drove away from the house.

When they were finally out of sight, Alice turned to me and wrapped me in a hug. "It's kind of scary," she said. "Being alone for the first time in months, I mean. Isn't it?"

I chuckled, pushing her hair back from her face. "A little, yeah. But we have each other, right?"

As we closed the front door behind us, I realized for the first time in years that I wasn't sure that was enough.

~oOo~

About twenty minutes after Edward and Jasper left, my phone beeped, signaling a new text.

"You could have just told me whatever it is," I said to my sister, laughing.

"Huh?" Alice looked away from the laptop screen, raising an eyebrow. "That's not me."

I scrambled to open the messages, realizing it must have been Edward that had texted me.

_Try to stay out of trouble for the next thirty-six hours, beautiful. Okay?_

My heart flip-flopped, and I realized I was relieved to have heard from him, that he was thinking of me. Laughing, I hit reply, unable to resist teasing him.

_I can't promise that. But we can both get into trouble when you come back. ;) We should "test" my tub._

Edward's reply was immediate and made my girly parts tingle.

_Well, it IS my duty to make sure all things in your life run smoothly. Don't you dare try it without me!_

I told myself the word "duty" was just part of his teasing and flirting, that he didn't really mean that that part of our relationship – _any_ part of our personal relationship – was actually part of the job. I knew him better than that, and I trusted him not to treat me like that. Putting my worries about the future aside, I got in one more tease that I knew would get a...rise out of him.

_I wouldn't dare, Mr. Cullen._

With a grin, I exited out of the messages and went back to scrolling through the job ads in the browser on my phone.

Alice chuckled, and when I looked up, she was shaking her head at me.

"What?"

She grinned. "Nothing. By the way, while you were texting with Edward, I think I found the car I want."

I scooted over so I could see the laptop screen. "This one?" I asked, pointing to the VW Beetle. "You want a Bug?"

"Sure, why not?" Shrugging, she continued, "It's small, cute, there's a lot more room inside than you'd think, it has great safety ratings, gets good gas mileage, and it's a great price. See?"

Glancing at the price listed beside the car, I nodded. "Looks good, then."

I smiled, ready to move back over, but then she shifted the laptop in my direction.

"Want to see what you can find for yourself?"

"I can't get a car right now," I told her, shaking my head.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"

"I can't afford it." I tried hard not to let the "duh" sound in my tone of voice.

"Bella," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "I got plenty from the sale of my studio. You know that."

I wasn't sure how to explain to her why I didn't want to take her money. "Pix, I appreciate the offer. I really do. But I'm a grown woman. I need to do this for myself, ya know? I need to know I can take care of myself – and that includes buying my own car once I have a job and the money."

She skewed her lips into a frown for a moment. "How will you pay for it? It'll take a long time to save up enough money."

Shrugging, I answered, "I'll do it like everything other middle-class American and take out a loan. Once I have a job, I should be able to get one. I'm not gonna be buying a hundred thousand dollar car anyway."

Alice was quiet for a minute, and then she reached over and took my hand. "Promise me that if you change your mind, you'll let me know? And if you're ready to get one, you come to me first. I'll loan you the money if that's what you want, and you can pay me back."

I thought about saying no, my stubborn pride pushing its way to the front of my mind, but one look at her worried face and I couldn't help but say, "Yeah, of course. Thank you for understanding."

She smiled. "You're my sister. I get it, sweetie." She bumped my shoulder with hers. "Now, help me pick out a color."

We were in the middle of picking out the color Alice wanted when a knock sounded on the door. Both of us froze for a moment.

"Bella? Alice? It's Betty Grayson."

With a sigh of relief, we both relaxed, and I jumped up from the couch and went to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

"Hi! Come in," I gushed, moving out of the way so she could enter the house.

"Good morning, girls," Mrs. Grayson said, smiling at Alice. "I saw the boys drive off earlier while I was out getting the paper."

Alice nodded. "They had things to do. They'll be back tomorrow, though. Did you need them?"

"Oh no, dear. I actually came to offer my services as a chauffeur. I noticed you don't have a car, so if there's anything you might need, I'd be more than happy to take you to get it."

"That's so sweet, Mrs. Grayson—"

"Now, Bella, I thought I told you girls to call me Betty." She raised an eyebrow, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Betty," I agreed, smiling. "I think we're okay right now, but we'll—"

"Actually," Alice interrupted, "I do want to go buy a car I found online. If you really don't mind, could you take us to the VW dealership up on 48th Street just off the interstate?"

"Yes, absolutely. That's only a couple of miles from here, actually." She nodded, clapping her hands once. "When would you like to go?"

Alice looked at me, and when I shrugged, she said, "One o'clock?"

"Perfect," Betty agreed. "I'll pick you up then."

"Thank you, Betty," Alice told her, smiling gratefully.

"It's my pleasure, sweetheart."

Alice held the door for her and then closed it behind her once Betty had started down the steps to the sidewalk.

Laughing, I said, "I guess I'll go take a shower and get dressed. Maybe we can stop by the library after, too. I need something to read, and I think there's a new Joanna Brady book that came out last month."

"Cool. Find out where the library is, and we can stop by while we're out," Alice said. "I want to find a Best Buy or something and get a Blu-ray player and some movies. That DVD player—" she pointed to the older-model player under the flat-screen TV "—won't cut it."

I agreed before heading back to my bedroom and getting ready to jump in the shower.

I couldn't resist one more text to Edward before I did, though, turning on the water to let it warm up before grabbing my phone.

_I'm leaving the bathtub for us to test together, but I gotta take a shower, sorry. I'll be thinking of you, though! ;)_

Giggling, I set my phone down and then stepped under the spray.

~oOo~

"There's nothing in the local paper or classified pages like craigslist," I grumbled to Alice, who was playing around on her iPhone while I used the laptop. "Hopefully the job sites will have something."

"Did you check Monster yet?"

"That's my first stop," I said, already keying in the url for it. "I need to write up a new resume, I guess. Can you grab the paperwork? I don't have that stuff memorized yet," I admitted.

Alice went to the fireplace and knelt down, pushing in the stones Betty had told us about yesterday when she came over to pick us up to go pick out Alice's new car. Apparently, her husband had wanted someplace secret to hide things like important documents or whatever, and he had installed a hidden compartment in the fireplace facade that was accessed by pushing three stones in the correct order. It was the perfect place to hide the little key-locked safe that contained our WitSec papers, our dad's gun, and the card containing our family photos.

"Here," she said, handing me the envelope with the paperwork inside.

I smiled, taking them from her. "Thanks."

"Hey, the guys'll be over in a couple of hours. Any thoughts on dinner?"

Damn, I was going to be glad to see Edward. It had been just over twenty-seven hours since he and Jasper had left, but it felt like three or four times that long. I couldn't believe how much I missed him.

Giving Alice's question some thought, I said, "How about Thai? Edward said Rom Mai Thai delivers in this area and is good."

Alice groaned. "Mmm. God, I could definitely go for some curry. I'll text Jasper and see if that sounds okay to him. If neither of them feel like it, we can figure something else out later."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

With that plan set, I went back to having my nose buried in paperwork and job searches.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

Jasper pulled the car over in front of my house – my house that I hadn't seen in months. What had once seemed like my refuge, now just looked...empty. With a deep breath, I opened the car door and gazed up at the little blue house with white trim.

"Dude, you okay?" Jasper asked.

"I'm fine. Just not looking forward to all the fucking mail I have to sift through," I lied, shrugging a shoulder and stepping out onto my driveway. I grabbed my duffel bag from the back seat, slamming the door.

What I wanted was for him to drive me right back to Bella. Leaving her had been almost painful, even though I knew I'd be back the next night to bring her the boxes that had shipped from New York. Al was holding them at the station. We knew it wasn't much, just some clothes, music, and probably books – impersonal items that couldn't be tracked to the girls. And after hearing her talk in her sleep, I wanted even more to stick around, make her say the words again in the light of day, but that wasn't fair, especially when I couldn't bring myself to man up.

"Well, call me if you need a ride. I know your car's still at the station," he stated through the open window.

I glanced over at my covered carport and chuckled. "I think I'll be fine, Jazz. Looks like Dad's been bored." I pointed to my bike that had been in parts all over my carport when I'd left Seattle. It was now put back together and had obviously been ridden at some point, because it was facing out.

"Oh hell," he said with a chuckle. "Esme's gonna kick his ass if she finds out he rode that motherfucker."

I laughed and patted the roof of the car. "Indeed. I hope to be there. I'll call you tomorrow to meet me at the station."

"Right-oh," he sang and pulled away from the curb.

I walked up my drive, stopping in front of my Harley. Shaking my head slowly, I smirked and picked up the note that Dad had left on it.

_Son,_

_You had a bad spark plug. I replaced it and changed the oil. She's good to go. Come see us when you're finally home. We've missed you._

_Dad_

_P.S. Don't tell your mother I rode this thing. She'll have my head._

Laughing at him and to myself, I pulled out my keys. Gazing up at my front door, I sighed, bracing myself before walking in. Aside from the giant-ass pile of mail my dad had collected and stacked on my coffee table, there wasn't a damn thing different in my house. It was eerily quiet, smelling of my leather sofa, the cologne I used, and a hint of tobacco.

I dropped my bag by the front door for later. I needed to do one thing first and foremost. On my kitchen counter, my phone sat turned off. I turned it on, waiting for it to load up every missed call, every voice mail, and every missed email. It was practically overflowing, but it was mainly my family. Coworkers would've known I'd gone off the grid.

Ignoring all the other bullshit, I found what I wanted – Bella's pictures that she'd sent and her new number. I saved it all, sending her a quick text.

_Try to stay out of trouble for the next thirty-six hours, beautiful. Okay?_

I hit send and tucked my phone into my pocket as I walked about my house, making sure everything was fine. My parents had obviously cleaned out my fridge of all the spoiled food. Now it looked bare, with only bottles of water, a few beers, and some random condiments.

My phone chirped once, indicating a text.

_I can't promise that. But we can both get into trouble when you come back. ;) We should "test" my tub._

I groaned aloud, a sound that was shocking in the silence of my house, but I couldn't help it. I'd never wanted anyone as much as Bella. No one had ever made me hard just sending a goddamn text. Just the mere thought of her made my dick stand up at attention, never mind the mention of a slippery bath. He was suddenly feeling rather dirty, which wasn't shocking, really. He really was a dirty bastard, especially when it came to her.

_Well, it IS my duty to make sure all things in your life run smoothly. Don't you dare try it without me!_

Chuckling, I walked into my bedroom and changed from my T-shirt into a black button down, rolling up the sleeves. I had a few errands to run, but the most important was registering the girls with the local police. Grabbing my leather jacket, I tugged it on and made my way back through the house, locking the door. Once I straddled my bike, my phone alerted one more time.

_I wouldn't dare, Mr. Cullen._

"She's killing me," I grumbled, shaking my head and putting on my helmet and sunglasses. "Absolutely fucking killing me." I tucked my phone into the inside pocket of my jacket and started the engine.

The smile that spread across my face couldn't be helped. She sounded so much better than she had when I left. I owed Dad, big time. Coasting down my driveway, I rumbled out of my neighborhood.

~oOo~

The Seattle Police Department was always an interesting visit. It was an influx of phones ringing, people yelling, uniformed officers scurrying around like busy bees. And the smell. I could never get past the smell of the place; I didn't know how Emmett survived it. It smelled like sweat, old beer, cheap coffee, and feet. It was disgusting. Then again, Seattle was one of those cities with an enormous homeless problem – mainly teens and young adults.

"Well, well, well... Long time no see, Cullen," I heard to my right, and I turned to see a gorgeous redhead eye-fucking me from head to toe.

"Sandra," I greeted with a smirk, adjusting my baseball cap that was covering my helmet hair and taking off my sunglasses. "Emmett in?"

"Sure is. Go on back, handsome," she purred, but jerked her chin toward the side hallway. "And come see me when you're done. We'll grab a beer."

"No can do, Red. Sorry," I said with a chuckle and a shake to my head. "I've got way too much shit to do."

"Hmm, shame," she hummed.

Grinning, I turned away from her. Sandra was a hell of a detective. She worked mainly undercover, trying to pull underage girls off the streets. It was a shit job. More than once, some handsy pimp had roughed her up, but she was tough as nails and just as pretty. Dressed just right, she looked no more than eighteen, even though she was pushing thirty. Sandra preferred her men...submissive in bed. But that shit wasn't for me. We'd had fun once, but I'd avoided her ever since. The fucking bruises on my ass took weeks to fade.

That last thought sobered me up as I made my way to Emmett's office. I was a fucking prick. My past was all around me, and poor Bella was going to see it eventually.

"Holy shit! Ed, you're back!" Emmett boomed, drawing a shit-ton of attention from the cops around us, but I grinned, receiving his bear-hug with open arms. He slapped my back hard. "Man, I didn't think you'd ever get back. Have you been by the house? Seen your folks?" he asked, shoving me into his office and closing the door.

"Mm, not yet," I sighed, sitting down in the chair in front of his desk. "I'm here on official business. I need to see Liam."

I picked up a picture frame off his desk. It was one of those electronic ones that flipped through several pictures. I had to smile at my brother-in-law; he was already a proud daddy. Emma looked adorable curled up on his chest in one picture, dressed in lace and frilly shit in another, and asleep in my sister's arms in the last.

"God, she's beautiful, Em," I whispered. "I can't wait to see her."

"She's loud – like all night loud," he said with a laugh. "I haven't slept a full night since we brought her home."

Chuckling, I nodded. "Worth it?"

"Every lost minute of sleep," he stated firmly with his big, boyish grin. "So, you comin' by soon?"

"I hope. I still have some stuff I have to clean up," I told him. "It's WitSec, so I have to be there all the time," I hedged, shrugging a shoulder like it was no big deal, but it was, and eventually, Emmett would put two and two together. "Is everyone gonna be at my parents' Sunday?" I asked.

"Hells, yes. Why don't we surprise them all?" he suggested, leaning on his desk in front of me and crossing one ankle over the other. "Be there for lunch, man. I won't say a word."

"I like that. Yeah, that works!"

That was actually the perfect amount of time. I could finish helping the girls get settled over the next few days, bring them their stuff, and spend time with Bella before stepping back into my family's lives.

He clapped his hands together and then rubbed them. "Awesome! Now, let's find you the chief."

As we walked through his office, I shook my head. "What the hell? This place is crazy today."

"Not just today. We're working on a pretty big drug ring case. I hope to narrow it down soon. The shit's comin' in on boats, but it's spreading all the way into the 'burbs, dude. And it's potent shit. Kids are ODing left and right," he explained. "They're not cutting it right or somethin'."

"Fuck." I grimaced, thinking we all had tough jobs. Criminals would never stop, which meant cops like Emmett, like Sandra, like myself, would be fighting against it forever.

Emmett knocked lightly on the chief's door, opening it when we heard someone say to come in. Liam Callahan looked up from his desk and smiled.

"McCarty," he greeted, but looked to me. "Cullen! What brings you here?"

"I need to register two WitSec names with you," I told him. "They've relocated here in Seattle. I need to make sure that if anything happens, if they come in contact with the police in any way, we're notified ASAP."

"Gotcha. Have a seat." He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "McCarty, shut the door on your way out."

"No, he can stay. It's fine." I trusted Emmett with my life. He was a good man.

Emmett took the chair beside mine as I slid a piece of paper across Liam's desk with the girls' names and new drivers license numbers on them. He took it, typing on his computer.

Liam Callahan was a lean, pale older man. I'd dealt with him before on other cases. He was Irish – something we had in common – and he was only third generation born in the U.S. We always got along pretty well.

"WitSec, huh? You expect trouble from them?" he asked, holding up the slip of paper.

I laughed outright. "No," I snorted. "None whatsoever. I'm sure you saw the trial coverage in New York..."

"Yeah, as chief, I have to..." He stopped and eyed me. "Damn."

"Yeah." I nodded, letting out a deep breath. "We don't think those girls will have any more trouble. The...umm... Let's see, how do I put this? The structure within that family fell apart during the trial, so those two aren't exactly top of the wanted list with them."

"Oh ho! They ratted each other out?" Emmett asked.

"Something like that."

Liam continued to type, making sure the contacts were myself, Jasper, and Al. The system was set up so that if the girls got into legal trouble or the cops were called and their licenses pulled, they were to contact the U.S. Marshal Service immediately. Their file would be classified outside of the USMS, but it kept them safe. Technically, they were free to live their new lives, but it gave us the opportunity to know if they were in trouble. It also made the local police department aware that there could be someone looking for Alice and Bella.

"All done," he said, spinning the computer screen around so that I could see the alert stamped on their files. "Pretty girls."

"Sir. They are." I sniffed nonchalantly, allowing myself one small glimpse of Bella's beautiful face before standing up. Reaching across his desk, I shook his hand. "Always a pleasure, Chief."

"Anytime, Cullen."

Emmett led me back to his office and shut the door. My phone chirped with a text from inside my jacket, and I pulled it out to see Bella had sent me another message.

_I'm leaving the bathtub for us to test together, but I gotta take a shower, sorry. I'll be thinking of you, though! ;)_

I smirked, chuckling at her teasing, but looked up to see Emmett glaring my way. "What?" I asked, tucking my phone away. I'd get her back later.

His eyes narrowed on me as he folded his massive arms across his chest. "I didn't see it on the video chat, but I do now. Rosie said you were different. What's going on, Ed?"

I grimaced, glaring down at the floor and trying to figure out what to tell him. I had to tell him something. The bastard would never let shit slide.

"Bro, talk to me. What happened?" he asked. "I swear to God, it won't leave this room."

I sighed, knowing he meant that shit. We shared the same type of job, and sometimes, stuff happened that only other cops would understand. But this... This was so touchy.

With a sniff, I locked gazes with him. "You can't say _any-fucking-thing_, Emmett. But you're gonna meet those girls eventually. You just can't ever know where they came from. You have to accept what we tell you at face value."

His brow furrowed, and he nodded. "What are you telling me? That you're fucking one of them?"

My anger at the words he'd used flared high and hot. "No! I'm not just _fucking_ one of them... I'm...she's...fuck!" I growled, yanking off my cap and gripping my hair. "Dammit, Em. She's important, okay?"

"Oh my God, Edward Cullen... You've gone and fallen for someone. Holy shit," he guffawed, but he sobered quickly, eyeing my angry expression warily. "Is that allowed? And is it safe, Ed? You know, Rosie would kick your ass if she knew you were bringing the fucking mob here."

"It must be kept quiet, and yeah, it's as safe as I told Liam. Those girls aren't really on the radar anymore. But you're not stupid, Em. You'd have put it all together as soon as you met them."

"Them? Two?"

I shook my head profusely. "Jasper."

His laugh was loud, ending in a coughing fit. "Oh shit! Both of you? Two of the most eligible bachelors in Seattle are now—"

"Off the market," I said with a smirk, but I gripped the front of his shirt. "Emmett, I mean it. They're important, but no one can know. I trust you to know that their safety means not only my job, but...me."

He smiled softly and nodded. "Okay. Got it, bro." He slapped my shoulder. "I really gotta meet the chick that snagged you. She's gotta be somethin' else."

Smiling proudly, I nodded. "She's...everything." As soon as the last word left my lips, I thought of Al. Bella had become my everything. Fuck, if that didn't make my chest hurt.

"So, when?" he asked.

"When what?"

"When can I meet her?" he asked, speaking to me as if I was mentally handicapped.

"Not for a bit. We have to make it like we met here. Give me time, Em."

"Fair enough," he sighed, still smiling. "Then my lips are sealed. But you're still comin' Sunday?"

I put my baseball cap and sunglasses on, grinned his way, and said, "Don't you dare tell 'em I'm comin'."

Emmett laughed. "Excellent. Bring the beer!"

~oOo~

Glancing in the rearview mirror, I checked to make sure Jasper was still behind me. Both our cars were full of the girls' stuff. He'd picked me up a little after lunch so I could grab my car at the station. Al wasn't in, but he'd left word with Jessica that we would find several boxes with our names on them in his office. He'd also told her that he didn't want to see our asses in that office for at least six weeks. We'd been granted time off, but I knew what he was doing. He'd really just given us the correct time frame for the girls. Six weeks was fucking perfect. It would show us back in town – just long enough to meet two really pretty girls that were new in town and start dating in our free time. Again, my desire to punch Al needed to be reassessed.

Jessica had been relentless, asking for us to come out with her and her friends for drinks. Apparently, in the time that we'd been gone, she broken up with the senator's son – Tyler, Taylor, what-the-fuck-ever. He'd cheated on her, and she'd caught them. And while we'd offered to kick his ass for her, we'd graciously declined her invitation to have drinks, much to her disappointment.

I glanced behind me again for Jasper, and I could see he was keeping up just fine, but fuck, I couldn't get to the girls' house quickly enough. It had been a long damn twenty-eight and a half hours. The fact that I was counting made me feel like damn pussy, but despite having a shit-ton of things to do around my own house, waking up without being wrapped around Bella had sucked. Royally. My bed had felt empty and cold, and there was no sweet smell of flowers and fruit. I'd hated it. And I hated that I'd hated it, because that meant more than I was willing to acknowledge.

I'd kept myself busy in order not to text her or call her every damn second. I'd cleaned my house, started laundry, and gone through every piece of fucking mail that had collected on my coffee table, thanks to my dad. Luckily, all my bills were set up to pay automatically, and I hadn't missed anything important. I'd even gone grocery shopping because I couldn't stand an empty fridge.

Wheeling into the driveway, I pulled all the way to the back in front of the garage. I snorted into a laugh as I eyed the car now sitting inside. Opening my door and getting out, I looked to Jasper.

"Seriously?" I asked, pointing to the bright-ass yellow Beetle.

"Don't!" he growled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "It's what Alice wanted. She was in love with that damn thing instantly. I couldn't stop her. She sent me a thousand pictures of it."

"Lemme guess," I chortled. "It was owned by an old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays."

He punched my arm. "No, asshole. It's brand fucking new."

The back door into the garage opened, and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as the two girls came barreling out to us.

"Moving company, at your service," Jasper drawled with a deep bow, and I chuckled, wrapping my arms around Bella.

I buried my nose in her hair just to inhale the scent that I'd missed over the course of the day. "Where you want 'em, beautiful?" I asked her.

"Just stack them next to the car, baby," she grumbled into my chest. "We'll have to go through them together later. I'm sure there's no order to them."

"No, probably not." I chuckled, kissed the top of her head, and popped the trunk of my car with the key-remote.

"Is this..._your_ car?" she asked, eyeing my second favorite means of transportation.

Grinning, I nodded. "Yes, ma'am. You like?"

My Audi A7 was black from bumper to bumper, all the way down to the rims. Even the tint was too damn dark. Inside was black leather interior. It had been a gift to myself once I'd finished marshal training in Georgia. She was a fast, sexy bitch.

"Well, yeah," she sputtered.

"Good," I said, handing her the keys. "You can use it until you get something for yourself. I can't..." I gestured toward the bright yellow Bug. "Just...no."

I wasn't having my girl in that bright-ass yellow car. It wasn't happening. It didn't fit. Oh, it fit Alice to a fucking tee, but not Bella.

"You leave my baby alone!" Alice yelled. "I love her."

"I'm happy for you," I said with a snort, but turned to Bella, who seemed stunned. "Baby? Take the keys. I'll ride my bike." When she started to argue – because I knew she would – I cupped her chin, forcing her gaze to mine. "You use this, don't argue, and when you're ready for your own, I'll gladly take you. Got it?"

"Edward..."

"This isn't a _job_ thing, Bella. It's me. I _want_ you to use it. Please use it," I urged in a whisper, trying to make her see that I wasn't going anywhere. I knew that was her biggest concern.

Her brow furrowed, and she finally nodded, glancing at the car. "Okay."

I sighed in relief. "Okay. So let's unload these boxes."

There were only about ten boxes in various sizes, and Jasper and I had them stacked neatly off to the side of the garage so the girls could go through them later. By the time we'd finished, the Thai delivery had arrived and we gathered in the dining room to eat.

The girls caught us up quickly about Betty coming over and offering to help them in any way. They also showed us where their locked box was, just in case there was an emergency. It was brilliantly hidden in the stones of the fireplace. Bella and Alice both complained about job hunting, but were aware that it would be slow going at first.

Jasper and I talked about the six weeks leave we'd been given. We told the girls that just before that six weeks was up, just before Jasper and I would return to duty, we should be clear to start bringing them around the people we knew and my family. In the meantime, we all needed to come up with a story, something we all agreed on about how we'd all "met."

But more than all of that, I couldn't wait to get Bella alone. My hand couldn't stop touching her knee, her thigh, traveling in a loop up and down. When we were done, Alice begged Jasper to go for a drive in her new car, so they took off.

Bella and I were quiet as she put away the dried dishes.

She snatched my car keys up from the counter, shaking them. "You didn't have to do this. We'd have made do with one car, Edward. Who knows how long it'll take for me to get to the point I can get a car of my own."

"I don't care," I stated, shrugging a shoulder, but I followed her down the hallway into her room, my eyes barely straying from her as she set the keys down onto her dresser. "Maybe I want you to have something of mine when I'm not with you," I muttered, shoving my hands into the front pockets of my jeans and standing in the middle of the room.

She smiled as she closed her door and locked it. "Just promise me that if you need it, you'll just...come get it."

Chuckling, I nodded. "Hand to God!" I raised a hand in the air.

"Fair enough," she said with a giggle, and then suddenly, she said in a rush, "I missed you last night."

Something about those words triggered something inside me. It was the way she'd said it, like she was taking the very thoughts out of my mind. In three long strides, I was standing in front of her, pressing her into the door.

"Tell me, Bella," I panted, bracing my hands on either side of her head. "What'd you miss?"

"I missed you holding me," she whispered, and instantly, my hands left the door and slipped down her shoulders, around her waist, and down to her ass. "Eep," she squeaked when I picked her up.

"Mm, like this?" I asked, practically purring when those glorious legs wrapped around my waist and her fingers threaded into my hair.

"No, not exactly, but this is..._just fine_," she sang with a little snicker to her voice.

I couldn't keep my lips from her if I tried. We seemed to move at the same time, lips, tongue, and teeth colliding with moans in the middle. She gripped my hair, guiding my head how she wanted it, and I reveled in the feel of her sweet ass in my hands, grinding between her legs up against that door.

When I broke away, I left a long, slow kiss to the side of her neck.

"I missed waking up with you," she admitted, nuzzling my jaw.

"Fuck, _I know_!" I growled into the soft skin just behind her ear. "And my shower sucked ass!"

Her laugh was the most glorious thing I'd heard in hours, and I grinned against her cheek.

"Well, then, you can fulfill that duty of yours. There's this really awesome tub—Agh!" she screamed when I yanked her away from the door and marched her straight into the bathroom. She was still laughing when I set her down on the vanity and slammed the bathroom door.

~oOo~

I pulled into my parents' driveway, killing the engine of my bike. Jasper and I had spent Friday night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night with the girls. He'd dropped me off at my house that morning so I could get ready to head to Sunday lunch with my family. Bella had been excited for me, and both girls wanted tons of pictures of my niece. They'd made me promise.

I grabbed two bags from the side storage on my bike – one of them being the beer Emmett had requested – and walked up to the door. Smiling at the sound of my brother-in-law's booming laugh, my sister's voice reprimanding him, and my mother calling for my dad, I reached for the doorknob. However, it was the alien sound of a baby that made me rush in.

Laughter and chatter came to a standstill as everyone turned my way.

"What? Am I late?" I teased, grinning when Emmett snorted.

"Edward!" Mom whispered, rushing to me. She hugged my middle so tightly that the air pushed out of me in a grunt. "You're okay, you're safe," she chanted over and over.

"Mom, I'm fine," I said, bending down to kiss her cheek. "Unless you don't let go. Then I'm gonna pass out from lack of oxygen."

She giggled, pulling back, but she cupped my face in both hands. "Oh, I've missed this handsome face," she gushed, pushing my hair back from my forehead in a gesture she'd been doing since I was a kid.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see my dad there. "Hey, thanks for everything at the house," I told him, leaving out any mention of the bike. No need to bust him in front of my mother.

He smiled, shook his head, and pulled me into a hug. "Don't thank me. I was glad to do it," he whispered in my ear. "It's really good to have you home, son."

"It's good to be home," I said, my thoughts instantly flickering over to Bella, but I pushed them away. I had to, or everything I loved about her would come spilling out of my mouth to my family. I'd blurt out every reason why my being gone was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

Dad pulled back, and Emmett took the beer from my hands, saying, "Thanks. I knew you'd come through. Mom only has wine."

"Wait. You _knew _he was back?" my sister snapped, narrowing her eyes on her husband and then on me.

I grinned, shrugged a shoulder, and walked to her. "Don't kill him. I told him to keep it as a surprise," I explained, my eyes drifting down to the bundle in her arms. "I wanted to see everyone at the same time," I whispered, kissing her cheek. "God, Rosie, I'm sorry I wasn't here, but she's..."

"Perfect," she whispered back, finishing my thought. "I know." She kissed a round, rosy cheek, whispering, "Miss Emma Rose McCarty, meet your Uncle Edward."

I wasn't prepared for her to hand the bundle over to me, but Mom took the other bag in my hand just before my arms wrapped around the warm, tiny, squirming infant. I also wasn't prepared for the emotions that came with holding her. My chest cracked wide open.

Cradling Emma in the crook of my left arm, I reached up to brush a finger down around her chubby cheek. The tiniest of hands grabbed my finger and squeezed. I'd never seen anything like it. She was my sister made over, but with small bits of Emmett thrown in, which just made her all the cuter. She grunted and struggled in my arms, her little chunky legs kicking a little. But it was the deep red flush to her cheeks that made me chuckle.

"You're still red, Ladybug," I whispered, glancing up at my sister. "She's grown so much, even from the video chat."

She chuckled, kissing my cheek. "That happens, brother. She likes you."

Grinning, I glanced back down at my niece, who hadn't let go of my finger for one second. "Of course she does. I'm her uncle. I'm the guy that's gonna let her do stuff her parents won't let her do."

"Edward..." My dad snorted, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, that's probably the truth."

My soft laugh caught Emma's attention, and big, round blue eyes gazed up at me.

"Still want a boy?" my mom teased.

"Pfft," I scoffed. "I can still do everything I promised with a girl." I glanced down at Emma. "Ladybug, we've got a shit-ton of stuff to talk about," I started, ignoring the scoffs at my language – like Emma understood it. "I'll teach you how to throw a baseball, how to sneak dessert before dinner, and how to punch a guy if he pisses you off."

My dad and Emmett cracked up, but my sister snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not you, too. Those two already told her that they were teach her boxing."

"Boxing," I agreed with a nod. "Absolutely. Though I can teach you how to incapacitate a man...permanently."

Ladybug seemed to like that, because she gurgled up at me, pulling my finger to her mouth. She gummed my fingertip, gazing up at me, and I knew I was lost to this tiny thing. The newest addition to my family was going to have everything she ever wanted or needed.

"She must be hungry," Mom whispered, rubbing a hand over Ladybug's duck-fluff hair.

"I know the feeling," Emmett urged, shooting me a wink when Rose sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, okay," Mom chanted. "We'll get Emma a bottle, and then we'll sit down to eat. Lunch is almost ready."

"You want to feed her?" Rose asked with a small smile. "You don't look like you're giving her back anytime soon, so..."

I curled Ladybug protectively to me. "No. And hell yes, I want to feed her."

Rose ruffled my hair and walked away, leaving me alone in the room. I sat down on the couch next to the bag I'd brought in.

"Hey," I whispered, bending down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Someone really special sent this your way," I told her secretly, pulling out a small stuffed ladybug that Bella had given to me to bring. "You'll meet her soon," I vowed, smiling when she grasped the soft stuffed animal in her little fist. "It's a tough call as to which one of you is more beautiful... I'm tellin' ya."

Ladybug gurgled again, still gripping her new toy tightly.

I set it on her belly and pulled out my phone, snapping a picture so I could send it to Bella later.

"Edward..." My mom sat down next to me. "Here's her bottle. Just like this, okay?" she instructed, showing me how to hold it just right.

Emma latched on tenaciously, which made me smile over at Mom.

She reached up, brushing my hair away again. "You look...different. Calm. Happy."

Smiling at her, I shrugged a shoulder. I was all of those things, but I couldn't tell her why. "I'm just happy to be home, Mom," I hedged with a touch of the truth.

"Everything went okay while you were gone?" she asked, tilting her head at me. She was more perceptive than anyone else in my life, aside from Bella. "No leaving again?"

I smiled at her, shaking my head. "There's always a chance of something coming up, but I doubt Uncle Al will send me on anything long-term for a while. So, no. No leaving again. And he gave Jazz and me six weeks off."

You'd have thought I'd just handed my mother a million dollar check. She beamed like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Good," she sighed in relief, picking up the toy I'd brought. "Then bring _Ladybug_ to the table. Let's eat. I've missed your face, and I've missed spoiling you."

I chuckled at her adoption of my nickname, standing up with Emma still drinking her bottle. "Me, too, Mom. Me, too. What are we having?"

She smiled. "Spaghetti."

I laughed, my head falling back at the irony of it all. I'd gone months without my mother's amazing cooking, and I'd come home to the very thing I'd been cooking while out on detail.

"What's so funny?" she asked, leading me into the dining room.

I shook my head. "Nothing, Mom. Spaghetti's great."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: The girls are getting settled in, the boys are trying to acclimate to being back home, but it's all different. They have to find...balance. Uncle Al gave the boys six weeks off, which means six weeks of no new cases. They are, however, still responsible for their charges – Alice and Bella.**

**Ahh, and then there's Ladybug. I'd missed writing Edward's family – Emmett especially – up to this point in the fic. And before you panic, it's Edward's job to inform the local authorities of witnesses under protection for exactly why he explained. Should the girls find themselves in trouble – their doing or someone else's – it's the marshals that get called in.**

**I do have a quick, easy fic rec for you. _Sandstone Cove_ by Cosmogirl7481 is a really quick read, but so, so good. As always, she brings sexy and a touch of heartache to the table, but this is totally worth it. It's complete and about the size of a hefty o/s. :)**

**Just a side note... Jenny's latest fic, _The Heart Wants_, is up for Top Ten Completed Fics of July on TwiFanfictionRecs. If you liked it, please go vote! The link is on our profile & on Jenny's.**

**So we'll see you again on Wednesday. Until then...Mooches, Deb. :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N #1: We say it every chapter, but we truly mean it every time. Thank you for all the love, you guys. It really means so much to us. Here's a few...well, not so quick Q&As for this go round.**

**Edward is a normal man. Normal men look at other women and find them attractive. No hidden motives. No worries of cheating. Remember...he's been cheated ON. He wouldn't do that, especially to Bella, whom he loves. It was just that: noticing a woman is pretty/gorgeous/sexy/etc.**

**For those worried about Bella having to run into Edward's past conquests...Yes, he was a young, healthy, hot-blooded male with a decent sexual appetite. And yes, she may occasionally have to run into women he's slept with. And no, none of Bella's past conquests will be floating around Seattle. But Edward got slapped in the face with one while in New York, so I think he's had his fair share of it. ;) She'll be fine. He didn't sleep with every-damn-one he met. Bella knows he's a sexy guy and that other women find him attractive. If she can't handle having women look at him like he's sex on a stick, well...that's her problem. But it won't be in this story, I promise. So no worries!**

**Finally, for those that **_**still**_** don't understand **_**w**__**hy**_** they're waiting to say ILY... They've both been hurt – bad – in the past. Their lives (Bella's life in general, and Edward's life with Bella) are still not settled. Everything's still up in the air: Bella's job, their future together, etc. She's afraid ****that once she isn't a daily responsibility for Edward that he won't want her like he has been...and****he's afraid that once she doesn't have to rely on him every day for everything, she won't feel the same. Give them time, people. Let them settle into their e****veryday lives. I promise, you don't have long to wait. ;)**

**Okay, okay. I've talked enough. Go. Read the chapter. I promise, it's a doozy. See Deb at the bottom. ;) Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 25**

**Bella POV**

Sunday, I felt well and truly lonely for the first time in a while. Edward had gone to visit his family, and Alice and Jasper were out seeing Seattle in her new car. For a couple of hours after Edward left, they'd stayed in her room, and it had definitely been a private party.

In the middle of searching the job boards, my phone beeped with an incoming message. Opening it, my heart just about melted.

Edward had sent two pictures and a text message. He'd obviously gotten someone else to take the first picture, because baby Emma was in his arms, sucking greedily at a bottle he was holding for her. His face absolutely radiated love and pride and protectiveness. I couldn't help but grin when I opened the second. It was from his point of view as he looked down at the baby in his arms. He'd given her the stuffed ladybug I'd bought for her, and it was resting on her belly, her little fist clenched tightly around one of the legs. Finally, I opened the text message.

_Hey, baby. Isn't she beautiful? She likes the ladybug and says thank you. Rose snapped the other picture while I was feeding her and talking to my mom. I had her send it to me and thought you might want to see. Miss you, B. TTY soon. ~E_

I quickly texted him back.

_Can you read her mind?! Is that how you know she says thank you? ;) She's so adorable, Edward. You look happy holding her. Natural. She's a lucky little girl. Miss you, too. Call or stop by when you can if you want. ~B_

Once I hit send, I set the phone back beside me on the couch and went back to searching.

~oOo~

Tuesday, I was feeling frustrated with the lack of job opportunities, and nothing seemed to be going right. I'd dropped a plate while loading the dishwasher after breakfast, and things weren't looking up.

"Shit!" I hissed, balancing on one foot while cradling the other in my hands. My pinkie toe was throbbing from where I'd stubbed it on a box. _Damn, that hurts!_ I blinked back tears and put my foot down, sidestepping the box on my way to the kitchen.

Alice and I had spent Sunday and Monday unpacking some of the boxes Al had gotten shipped over from New York. There had been space on the entertainment center for the DVDs, but we still needed to go shopping for bookshelves for the living room and both bedrooms to hold all our CDs and my books. We'd unpacked all the clothes, deciding to wash them before putting them away since they'd been in storage for so long, but that was completely finished, so all that was left were the three boxes of books and one big box of CDs.

"You okay there, darlin'?" Jasper asked as I hobbled into the kitchen.

I grumbled, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just stubbed my toe."

He winced. "Been there, done that, B."

Jasper had spent the majority of his time since we got to Seattle here at the house with us – or Alice, rather. It made me miss Edward all the more, especially since I hadn't seen him since Sunday morning, and I hadn't heard from him since just before I went to bed the night before. Because his dad had been working long hours at the hospital, Edward had spent all day Monday helping his mom out with stuff around the house – yard work, stripping wallpaper in the guest bedroom so she could paint, and shuffling boxes and other things between the attic and garage, and he was back over there today. Sunday night, his mom had asked him to stay overnight after they'd been up talking and catching up until way after dinner. Monday night, he'd gone home to shower and change and ended up falling asleep. So it had been a lonely two days for me.

Alice came rushing into the kitchen, clutching the laptop. "Guess what!"

Jasper pulled her onto his lap, and she motioned me over, so I stepped up beside them to look at the screen.

"American Dance Institute wants me to come in for an interview!"

ADI was one of two places Alice had sent in an online application Sunday evening. I was surprised they'd gotten back to her that quickly, but happy, too, since I knew she'd love it if she got the job.

I grinned, patting her shoulder. "That's great, Pix. When?"

She bounced a little, causing Jasper to groan, and said, "The woman who just called asked if I could come in tomorrow. Being the start of the school year, they've had two instructors leave for college and have had an influx of kids join."

"What are they looking for?" Jasper asked, holding the still-bouncing Alice in place.

"They need someone specifically for pre-ballet, ballet, and the parent-toddler classes, which is perfect." She was so full of excitement, it was almost oozing out her pores. "Oh, my God, I need to go shopping. Al didn't get any of my dance gear sent over from New York." She looked up at me and asked, "Wanna go?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I'm game. We can stop by somewhere and get the shelves we need, too."

"I'm out," Jasper said, chuckling. "I'll leave you ladies to your shopping and go home for a bit. I need to do some cleaning up of my place because I haven't been home much since we got here to Seattle."

I told him I'd see him later and then slipped out of the room to go get ready, leaving them to say their goodbyes.

Three hours later, my phone rang as Alice and I were getting back in Edward's car at the Lowe's after loading in the boxes containing the bookshelves.

Quickly digging it out of my pocket to check the Caller ID, I smiled as I tucked the Bluetooth headset on my hear and tapped the button. "Hey, baby!"

"Hi, beautiful. I'm taking a break from scraping wallpaper and wanted to hear your voice."

I started the car and backed out before I spoke again. "I'm glad you did. How are things going with your mom?"

"You mean aside from the honey-do list that's as long as my arm?" he asked wryly. When I laughed, he chuckled. "Nah, it's all good. She's had me working hard, but it's fine. I know my dad's doing that shit on purpose, though – staying away as long as possible to avoid it, the jackass. See what that gets him on Father's Day."

I turned out onto the road to head in the direction of our house, unable to stop from teasing and riling him up. "I'm sure he's just busy, Edward."

"Yeah, busy avoiding cutting the grass and straining his arm muscles trying to get this old wallpaper down," he muttered, although it was evident in his tone that he was only kidding.

Giggling, I said, "Hold on... Traffic." After I'd merged onto the interstate, I said, "Okay, sorry. We're on our way home from shopping."

Edward hummed into the phone, and when he spoke, his voice was low, sultry. "Are you...driving my car, baby?"

"Mmhmm," I said in answer, feeling that purr in his voice through my entire body like fingertips gently caressing my skin. "We bought the shelves we needed, and they wouldn't have fit in Alice's car."

"Fuck, that's sexy," he growled. "I love imagining you behind the wheel, your hand on the gear shift... I bet you handle it as well as you handle—"

Alice squeaked when I swerved as my brain went haywire at his train of thought, and I cut him off before he could continue and make me wreck his fuck-awesome Audi. "Edward, as much as I love that, if you keep talking about that, I'm gonna kill Alice and myself. New car, new roads, new traffic, and sexy-ass voice growling in my ear are not conducive to safe driving."

"Sorry," he said, although I wasn't sure how sincere it was since he laughed his way through the word.

I made a disgruntled, yet amused sound in the back of my throat and grinned when his chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh before being interrupted by a female voice in the background. It was muffled, like Edward had pulled the phone away from his ear and tucked it against his chest, so I could hear the sound but not make out any conversation.

He was quiet when he spoke again. "I gotta go, beautiful," he sighed. "Mom wants my help moving furniture around in the living room. Why she can't wait another two days until Dad gets off for a couple of days, I don't know."

Chuckling, I looked over my shoulder and switched lanes smoothly before replying. "Go help your mom, Edward. She missed you. This is her way of keeping you close for a while. Totally understandable."

"I'll come over later for the night, okay? I have to babysit Ladybug tomorrow while Emmett's at work and Rose goes into the store to help with a problem her partner can't handle, but I'm yours tonight. I swear it."

I smiled and nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Sounds good." I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I knew now wasn't the time – and certainly not over the phone.

We said our goodbyes and then I tapped off the connection.

"You guys are so cute," Alice cooed. "I'm glad he makes you that happy."

Smiling softly, I said, "He really does."

The rest of the drive was quick, traffic finally letting up, and we pulled into the driveway after waving to Betty across the street as she was pulling out of her own drive.

Alice and I had been home for about an hour when Jasper texted to let her know he was on his way over. When he got to the door, she pulled it open and jumped into his arms. He caught her and then walked with her hanging from him like a monkey to a tree.

"What's this about, darlin'?" he asked, laughing.

"Come let me show you my dance stuff," she said excitedly. She'd bought everything she'd need, from clothes and shoes to several large mirrors she could put up to practice in front of, as well music she could dance to that hadn't been included in the boxes from New York.

Jasper winked my way before heading down the hall to Alice's room, still carrying her on his chest with her arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

I was in the middle of trying to put together shelves a couple of hours later – having no luck matching Part E up with Part H like the instructions said – when, at the same time, thunder crashed, lighting flashed outside the windows, and the lights flickered. Rain had started coming down at some point, but it hadn't sounded like a storm until that moment.

I unplugged the laptop, deciding to run it on battery alone rather than chance it getting zapped by a lightning strike, and went back to beating my head against Part H.

After another hour, the storm was still raging outside. Alice and Jasper were cooking dinner – some kind of Mexican casserole that smelled delicious already after he'd browned up the ground beef with a lot of seasonings, peppers, and onions – and I finally had the bookshelf mostly put together. So when my phone beeped with a new message, I grabbed it and settled onto the couch to read.

_Sorry, B. I'd planned to be there already, but the wind caused a big tree branch from the neighbor's tree to break off and land in my parents' driveway. Dad's still at the hospital and Mom's car is in the garage, so there's no damage to anything but the fence, but Mom asked me to try to get it out of the driveway at least so Dad can get to the garage. I'll be over soon. xoxo ~E_

I hit Reply and typed out a quick response.

_Come when you can, Edward. :) But don't leave that house on that bike until the lightning lets up. I don't need you fried to a crisp on your way over here! xoxo back. ~B_

Just as I set the phone down, Alice called that dinner was ready. I picked it back up and stuck it in my pocket as I made my way to the kitchen.

"Edward has to deal with a fallen tree branch at his parents' and then he'll be over," I said, accepting the glass of milk from my sister as I took my seat.

"The neighbor's?" Jasper asked as he set the casserole on the trivet in the middle of the table. At my nod, he rolled his eyes. "Carlisle's been after that man to get those branches trimmed for ages. The thing had been showing signs of disease for months before we left Seattle to come to New York, so it doesn't surprise me. Did it hit the cars?"

When I told him what Edward had said in the text, he shrugged. "Well, at least there's that. The neighbor can replace the fence."

We settled in to eat as Alice talked between bites about what she expected from her interview the next day. It was the most animated I'd seen her since that life-changing night in May. She was about to – if all went well – be back doing the thing she loved most, and I was thrilled for her...and a little jealous that it had been that easy, if I were being honest. It made me realize I might need to broaden my requirements for a new job.

I promised myself that I would take care of that tomorrow, while Edward was at his sister's place watching his new niece.

Two and a half hours after we put the remains of dinner in the fridge, my phone rang. I'd been curled up on my bed reading, enjoying the new bookshelf I'd managed to put together that now held not only a lot of my books, but all my CDs, as well.

"Hey," I said into the phone after seeing Edward's face on the Caller ID screen.

"Bella." He sighed. "I'm so sorry it took me so long, baby."

Poor thing sounded exhausted, and I couldn't help the indulgent smile that crossed my face. "It's okay," I promised. "I've just been reading while I waited for you. I got the bookshelves all put together, so I've been enjoying the fruits of my labor, I guess you could say." Pausing, I then asked, "You finished at your parents' house?"

He groaned, and I heard him shut a door before he answered. "Yeah. The thing was too big to just move by myself. Since the storm let up, I dragged out the chainsaw and cut it into manageable pieces before dragging it all to the curb."

"Oh, damn," I sighed. "That big, huh?"

He chuckled. "I could make a joke, but I'm too damn tired and sore for that. I swear, I need to get back to working out if the last two days has me feeling like this."

"Poor thing. Mommy really put you to work, didn't she?" I teased, looking over at the clock. It was already nearly ten p.m., and I knew even if he came over, he'd be too exhausted to do anything but sleep. Taking pity on him, I said, "Go to sleep, baby. Take a hot shower, swallow some Aleve or something, and then crash. Don't worry about coming over here tonight."

"Bella, no," he huffed, sounding upset at the idea. "I haven't seen you for three days, damn it. I'm just gonna shower and then—"

"Baby, ya gotta be awake and alert enough tomorrow to watch little Emma. Just stay home tonight, get some sleep, and tomorrow, after you're free, we'll definitely get together, okay?"

He was quiet for almost a minute, and just before I spoke again to make sure I hadn't lost the connection, he sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm dead on my feet at the moment. I'd love to come sleep in your arms, but I'm afraid I'm gonna fall asleep in the shower, and that doesn't bode well for another trip on the bike."

"No, it doesn't," I agreed, the mere thought of that sending ripples of nausea through me.

"But tomorrow... Fuck, beautiful. Tomorrow, I'll simply tell anyone who asks me for anything that I have plans with friends that I haven't seen in months and I can't cancel on them. You're mine tomorrow night, Bella. Got me?"

I laughed softly. "I got ya, Edward. Tomorrow night. We'll do pizza or something and curl up on the couch together for a while."

"Fuck the couch," he growled, his voice low. "I'm not sure I'll let you out of bed long enough for anything but food – and maybe not even that."

"Sounds...perfect, actually." And it did. I missed him like crazy, including the sex, which had become as necessary to both of us as breathing.

We said a quiet goodnight, and I hung up the phone, fighting tears.

I knew it wasn't his fault, and I knew he'd have come over if I'd told him I wanted him to, but that didn't make the figurative hole in my chest any less painful.

~oOo~

By Wednesday afternoon, I was feeling a lot better about everything. Edward had already called once to tell me he had already declined a dinner invite from his sister and brother-in-law, saying he had plans he couldn't break. Rose was supposed to be back around four o'clock, and he was going to come straight to our house.

I'd also broadened my job search requirements and had actually found a few promising leads. There had been one I'd wanted to apply for, a forensic accounting position, but the job duties had specified that it might entail investigating white-collar crimes by persons related to organized crime, and Jasper had nixed that immediately after I brought it up to him and Alice. Too close to home, he'd said, and word travels among those circles.

The most promising lead I had was for a job in the accounting office of one of the best – if not _the_ best – hospital in the state: Virginia Mason. It wasn't exactly what I'd been looking for, but I would be working with numbers and money, which was what I'd enjoy, and it paid well and had great benefits. Plus, it had the added benefit of being less than three miles from our house, which would mean it would be an easy bus trip until I could afford to buy a car. I had Edward's Audi for the time being, but I didn't want to rely on being able to keep it for an extended period of time. He would eventually need it back – or if we parted ways, then I certainly couldn't keep it then.

I sent off my newly polished resume to the hospital and a few other jobs that I wasn't as happy or excited about and then opened up the helpful tips I'd saved about the hospital job. I had the accounting knowledge and experience, but I needed to know everything I could about something called the health care compliance principles, as well as the state and federal reporting requirements for health care institutions. I had little knowledge of medical equipment, but I'd be Googling that, as well.

Luckily, all of that I could find online, so until Edward was finished at Rose's house, I would keep my nose to the books – so to speak – and learn what I could so I was prepared if the hospital called to offer an interview.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I grinned and waved to Mr. Dobson, my parents' neighbor, as I ran by. He'd always hated me. Technically, he hated the sight of my ink. It never mattered that I was a perfectly upstanding citizen – a federal cop, for fuck's sake. He considered everyone with tattoos to be "hoodlums." And yeah, I ran shirtless through their neighborhood on fucking purpose.

The cranky old bastard scoffed and turned away from me, going back to his yard work. I smiled that much more as I trotted up the driveway. Punching the button to shut the garage, I then stepped inside the kitchen and went straight to the fridge for a bottle of water.

My mother looked up from the newspaper she was reading at the kitchen counter and smiled. "Morning, sweetheart."

"Morning," I gasped after finishing off the bottle of water. "I see old Widower Dobson is just as pleasant as ever."

"Oh, please," she scoffed, waving a dismissive hand and rolling her eyes. "That man... I'm not sure there's anything that puts a smile on his face."

"Death and destruction?" I offered, grinning when my mother laughed. "He'll love the zombie apocalypse."

"Hush, son. He simply misses his wife. I think she took his heart with her," she scolded, though her face showed her amusement.

"She took his personality, too," I muttered, smirking at her when she huffed another laugh.

"Sit and I'll get you something to eat. And thanks for doing this. Your father hasn't had the time."

I waved her thanks away. Even though my chest ached being away from Bella, I knew my mother had missed me. The whole family had stayed up pretty damn late Sunday night, putting Emma to bed in the spare room, and we'd talked and gotten caught up until late, when Emmett said he'd needed to be at the station early the next morning. I'd even had a couple of beers, which allowed me to get roped into doing a shit-ton of chores for my mother the next day. So I'd stayed the night. The look on her face when I'd offered was worth it, anyway.

I'd texted Bella to let her know that I'd be helping my mom out, and she'd been all for it, saying she was going to hit the ground running with job hunting and unpacking the next day.

"So what are we doing?" I asked Mom, taking the plate of eggs, sausage, and toast from her.

She handed me a big glass of orange juice and picked up a notepad, slapping it down in front of me. The fucker was filled with shit she wanted done.

"My honey-do list," she giggled.

"Damn," I groaned, shaking my head. "All this shit?" I asked incredulously, my eyes raking down chore after chore that ranged from yard work to storing winter stuff in the attic. I raised an eyebrow at her. "Dad has time. He's just avoiding this fucking list!"

"Maybe." She chuckled, kissed my forehead, and sat down next to me as I ate my breakfast and mentally sorted the page in front of me. "Or maybe I didn't want to bother him when he got home from working all day at the hospital."

"Mmhm," I hummed around a bite of toast.

Once I was finished eating, I didn't even bother to shower and started with the quicker, easier things. They were things that my mother wasn't strong enough or tall enough to do. So with a deep breath, I got to work.

I lugged several boxes of "spring stuff" up into the attic, shifting shit around up there to accommodate them, only to drag the "fall/winter stuff" down to the garage so she could get to it easier once the weather started to change. After that was yard work, which pleased old man Dobson to no end. I joined him outside with a wave – which sent him scurrying inside his house – cleaning out the gutters, raking leaves, and pulling weeds until my back was fucking killing me. I trimmed a few overhanging branches while my mother planted some new flowers, but by the time we were done, the sun was setting.

When my dad came home from work, my sweaty ass narrowed my eyes at him. "Chicken shit," I called him, and he laughed. "Your cowardly self is running from this shit, right?"

He merely grinned, slapping my shoulder as I leaned against the rake. "You're doin' a fine job, son," he teased. "It's nice to have you back."

"You owe me," I growled low. "I should tell Mom you went for a little joyride!" I hissed, pointing toward my bike.

He snorted. "Shut up and come in for dinner. I'll see if I can't get you paroled for the night."

Sighing with relief, I did as he asked. I let my parents have a moment to themselves and went to wash my face and hands, grabbing up my phone to call Bella. She answered immediately.

"Hi, handsome," she sang into the phone.

"Hey, beautiful," I sighed, leaning up against the bathroom sink. "My dad's trying to break me out, but unfortunately, I have to come back tomorrow."

She giggled softly. "Well, come by tonight if you're not too tired."

Smiling, I let out a sigh of relief because I was dying to see her. "Sure thing. Let me eat real quick and go home to shower and change clothes, okay?"

"No problem. We've been unpacking all day, so watch your step." She laughed.

"Okay, baby, see you soon."

~oOo~

The buzzing and ringing sounded far away. Coming up out of sleep was slow, until I realized I was still at home.

"Shit, shit, shit! I fucked up," I growled, rubbing my face and snatching up my phone to see Bella's beautiful face on the screen. "Aww, Bella. Baby, I'm so sorry. I crashed out last night," I rasped, trying to wipe the sleep-haze from my eyes.

"I figured, but I was worried when you didn't answer your phone, Edward," she sighed, sounding...off.

"Hey, I'll call Mom, tell her that I can't come today. We'll hang out," I offered.

She laughed a little. "You can't do that to her, baby. She needs you. And I need to find myself a job. Just...call me later, okay?"

"I promise," I vowed, frowning that she sounded strange. "Hey, sweetheart, I'm really sorry."

"You were tired, Edward. It's okay," she said with a little bit of a laugh in her tone, which made me feel less of a shit.

"Okay. Bye," I murmured. Groaning, I fell back to the bed, but the bastard phone went off again. "Cullen!" I snapped, still mentally berating myself for falling asleep the night before, but after my shower, I'd been fucking zapped.

"Aren't you pleasant?" Rose's sarcastic tone met my ears.

"Yeah, it's a shit morning. What's up? And make it quick, 'cause I should've already been over at Mom and Dad's," I barked, making my way into my kitchen. I needed coffee before I had to head back to my mom's version of slavery.

"You remember that babysitting thing you owe me?" she asked, and my head fell back.

"Aw, Ro, please tell me you're fucking with me," I whined.

"Not in the least, baby brother. I need you tomorrow. And I don't have a choice. Mom's got plans with her friends, and I need to go into the coffee shop tomorrow to clear up a problem. Gianna can't figure out payroll."

"I thought you were on maternity leave?" I interrupted.

"I am, but my people still have to get paid, and Gianna isn't exactly a numbers genius," she sighed wearily.

I snorted, thinking I knew one of those, but I kept my mouth shut. And she was kinda right. Gianna was good with people, but everything else...not so much.

"Please, Edward. I'm begging you. You'll be with Emmett until he leaves for work, and as soon as I'm done, I'll come right home," she bargained.

"Fuck," I whined, gripping my hair. Bella was gonna hate me when I told her this shit. "Okay, okay. When did I become everyone's do-boy?"

"When you announced you had time off," my sister countered with a laugh. "Edward, you've been gone for months. Give us a break. What? You got a hot date?"

I wanted to fucking scream the words, "Yes, damn it!" Instead...

"No," I lied, my chest hurting. My shoulders slumped in utter defeat as I stirred my coffee. "Tell me what time, and I'll be there."

~oOo~

Four goddamn days. I frowned, pulling into my sister's driveway late on Wednesday morning. I hadn't seen Bella in four damn days. It wasn't for lack of wanting to, either. I took off my helmet and turned off the engine, my head shaking slowly. I'd taken a break the day before from peeling fucking wallpaper from my mother's spare bathroom in order to sneak a quick call. She'd been in the car – _my car_ – which did nothing to slow down my libido. Imagining her behind the wheel, changing gears... Yeah, I was definitely fucking her in my car someday. I'd just needed to hear her voice, but I'd had to tell her about babysitting.

I groaned, banging my head with my helmet. Fuck, I just missed my girl. I was a selfish – now completely spoiled – motherfucker. I was used to being with her twenty-four-seven. I'd sworn to her that I was coming over tonight, no matter fucking what.

"Edward!" I heard from the front door, and I glanced up as I got off my bike to see Emmett dressed for work. "Get your ass in here. I got a drug bust goin' down soon, and I still have to show you everything!"

"Okay, okay," I sighed, setting my helmet on the seat.

Ladybug was snoozing in her little seat in the living room when he showed me where everything was. He'd given me a break and made up two bottles for her. They only needed to be warmed up. I'd already fed her once and burped her, so that was no big news to me. Rose had laid out clothes and diapers, not to mention powders and lotions and shit I had no clue what to do with, but Emmett talked me through it. I figured if that doofus could change Ladybug without breaking her, I sure as hell could do it. It helped that he said he'd walk me through it step by step if I called him.

Just before he was about to leave, he turned in front of the door. "Hey, don't tell Rosie, but if Emma gets...cranky? Just put the TV on some music. She likes old-school rock-n-roll. Rose has been pushing that Baby Einstein shit."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Define 'old-school.' Are we talking Beatles? Or Bon Jovi?" I asked with a laugh.

"Yup! She's got eclectic taste, my baby girl does," he said with a big grin. "You'll be fine. She sleeps a lot during the day, and Rose will be back around four or five. Kick back. I recorded some baseball games you missed on the DVR."

Grinning, I gave him a fist bump. "I wasn't in jail. I was able to watch sports."

"I didn't know!" He laughed. "Anyway, relax. You got this." He opened the door and looked over his shoulder. "How's the girl?"

"I haven't seen her in days, Em," I told him. "Thanks to Mom and this, it makes day four."

"Jonesin' for a little somethin'-somethin'?"

"Get out," I growled, rolling my eyes and shaking my head as he laughed his ass off all the way to his car. I wasn't going to admit to him how badly I needed Bella.

I checked on Emma before falling down onto the sofa to watch TV. She was still asleep, her long eyelashes resting on chubby cheeks. I smiled down at her, forgetting all the stress and drama of the week, and I envied her the bliss of ignorance as to what adults put up with every damn day.

About an hour after I was there, she stirred awake, grumbling and fussing, so I warmed a bottle. She took it like a champ. Actually, she ate like her father – like she'd never get another meal again – which would explain the Michelin chunk that was going on with her legs. And I swear to God, she lost about half of it on the cloth over my shoulder when I burped her like Rose had shown me at Mom and Dad's.

"We have to talk about this eating disorder, Ladybug," I said with a chuckle, setting her down into her bassinet. The very second I stepped away from her, she lost her shit. "Okay, okay," I soothed her, picking her back up and walking around with her.

Nothing fucking worked. She was red, tears and snot everywhere, and her little hands were balled up into fists. I wrestled with her angry self to change her diaper, which wasn't as hard as I'd thought it would be, but I couldn't get her to stop crying. And I wasn't calling my sister or Emmett. I could catch bad guys and shoot a gun, so I knew damn well I could handle eight pounds of upset little girl.

The stuffed toy that Bella sent her didn't work, neither did rocking or talking or anything else for that matter. Finally, I snatched up the remote control for the TV and hunted down Emmett's satellite music stations. Bastard was so wrong. The Beatles didn't work. Nothing did. I was about to pull my hair out at the roots...until I found the Motown station.

"Uh-oh," I said with a snicker, kissing her head as she sniffled a little. "The baby girl's got soul. We can work with that," I whispered to her. She blinked up at me and whimpered a little, but when the Temptations came on, I couldn't help but sing a little to her. "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May. I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girl..."

By the time the song faded away and into something else, she'd calmed down enough that I could sit back down on the sofa, though I kept her in my arms, situating her on her tummy on my chest, my hand holding her little butt. She was warm and her tiny hands gripped my T-shirt, but she smelled sweet – like soap and baby powder. I buried my nose in the duck-fluff curls on the top of her head, whispering to have sweet dreams. With a deep sigh, she was out.

That's how the rest of the day went – sleep, wake, eat, shit, scream, sing. And yeah, I fucking had no choice but to download _M__y Girl _onto my phone just to keep singing it every time. I wasn't about to change a damn thing if it was working. How my sister hadn't gone mad already was beyond me.

When Rose finally walked into the door – with a new haircut, I noted with narrowed eyes – Ladybug was chilling on my lap with her back to my stomach and we were watching the TV show _Jail_ together.

"I see you survived," Rose snorted, shaking her head.

"We did. I'm her new BFF," I told her with a grin and a wave of Emma's hand.

She chuckled. "Can you hang for a few more minutes so I can at least change clothes and start dinner?"

"Yeah, yeah, do what you need to. We want to know what happens to this cross dresser that got arrested for indecent exposure," I stated firmly, pointing to the TV.

"Unbelievable," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "You and Emmett, I swear," she said as she walked into the kitchen. "He had her propped up and watching _Penitentiary_ the other day."

"Ooh, Ladybug, that's a good one, too," I whispered into the top of her head. "You wanna catch bad guys?"

"Don't!" my sister growled on her way by. "The last thing I need is to worry about another member of my family."

My eyebrows shot up as I stared down the hallway. "Okay, no cop career for you," I told her secretly, turning her around so that her back was nestled on my legs. "But I bet I know someone that could teach you ballet..."

Ladybug gurgled, her fists waving a little, but she gripped my finger.

Grinning, I glanced up to see my sister staring at me. "What?"

"That looks good on you, Edward. You should have one of your own," she said, grinning when I probably went pale, because my heart certainly came to a standstill. Visions of chocolate eyes and dark hair filled my mind, and it was too much.

"On that note, Uncle Edward has to run as far and fast from your mom as he can," I told Ladybug in a sing-song tone, scooping her up and dropping a kiss to her head. "Here," I told Rose, who was laughing her ass off, but she took Emma with a bunch of kisses and nuzzles.

"Coward," she teased.

"Yup," I agreed, nodding fervently, but I smiled her way, gathering up my jacket. "I'll see you 'round, Ro."

"Wait, you can't stay for dinner?"

"No, I've got plans with friends I haven't seen since I've been back," I lied smoothly. "I can't break them. Sorry," I said, kissing her cheek and then Ladybug's.

"Okay," she sighed, looking disappointed. "Thanks for watching her, Edward."

I smiled because it hadn't been too bad. "No sweat, sis." I tossed a wave over my shoulder and got onto my bike. When Rose stepped back inside and closed the door, I pulled out my phone. Bella answered immediately. "Holy fuck, Bella. You'd better be ready for me, I swear to God."

She giggled, all sultry and sexy. "Door's unlocked."

"That's my girl," I practically growled, ending the call and starting my bike. I pulled out onto the street, hoping like hell I didn't get caught speeding.

~oOo~

"Fuck, I missed you," I groaned, pulling Bella on top of me. The bed was utterly destroyed, the sun was already up, and I hadn't let the girl out of bed all fucking night long.

"I can see that," she teased with a grin, bracing her hands on either side of my head. "But if you don't feed me, Edward, I won't make it through another round without passing out. We haven't left this room since you came over yesterday."

My tongue raked across my bottom lip at the thought. I'd ridden my bike straight from my sister's house over to Bella's, barely acknowledging the things they'd done around the place since I'd been there last. I'd walked into Bella's room, scooped her up, and hadn't let go all fucking night long. Hell, we'd woken up around two in the morning and gone at it again.

"Mm, think I could make you come hard enough to pass out?" I purred, dragging my lips over hers – top lip, bottom lip, delving my tongue in for a brief taste of her. My hands skimmed down to her ass, giving it a squeeze, but my eyes caught the slight flinch in her beautiful face. "You're sore."

"Deliciously so, baby," she whispered against my lips. "And starving."

I laughed, raising my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay... I shouldn't break my favorite toy."

She giggled, hit me with a pillow, and got out of bed. "I think you tried last night."

"Maybe," I hedged with a shameless grin, shrugging a shoulder and standing up to tug my jeans on.

We walked out to find that Jasper and Alice had ordered pizzas for lunch, so we grabbed a couple of slices each and ate in the living room on the couch, and I told them all about what I'd been doing the last few days, including hanging with the Ladybug. They laughed about what Emmett and I watched on TV with her.

"I should get going," Jazz said, standing up. "I promised Stephens I'd help him move into his new place."

"Stephens?" I asked, curling an arm around Bella and settling us into the couch. "I thought he was gonna stay in that apartment until he got married."

"He got married while we were gone, Ed," Jasper chortled. "And they closed on their new house yesterday."

"Oh, damn," I murmured, shaking my head at all we'd missed.

Jasper cracked the front door open, revealing Uncle Al about to knock.

"Nobody move!" I teased. "If we don't move, he can't see us."

"I'm not a T-Rex, asshole," Al snapped back with a laugh. "Nice to see you, too."

I grinned, rubbing Bella's shoulder when she giggled.

"Hi, Uncle Al," Alice said, kissing his cheek, and Bella got up to do the same.

"Ladies, the house looks pretty!" he said, giving his surroundings a beaming grin.

He chuckled when they said, "Thank you," at the same time.

"Not that I don't love surprise visits from you, but...what the hell are you doing here?" I asked him.

He glanced up at Jasper and the keys in his hand. "Stay for this. I won't be long. I figured I'd catch you all together."

Everyone sat down around the living room, and we gave Al our attention.

He sat forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees. With a deep breath, he said, "I was just bringing you an update on Volturi. He's received his sentencing."

Bella shifted nervously, but I held her closer.

"He received life in prison and then some, without the possibility of parole," he started. "They're shipping him up to Attica."

"Oh," Jasper and I groaned at the same time, because Attica was high-level security.

"Yeah, he's heading to a nasty place," Al snorted. "Anyway, Santiago and his team are escorting him today. I thought you'd want to know."

I narrowed my eyes on my uncle. "There's more..."

He nodded, a small smile flickering at the corners of his mouth. "Demetri Polizzi is missing."

"What do you mean _missing_?" I snapped. "He could be anywhere."

"Easy, kid," Al soothed. "His last known whereabouts were a meeting with Marcus Volturi. He was seen going in, but not coming out."

That statement hung there in the silence of the room for a moment.

I frowned, shaking my head. "So Marcus really took over..."

"Looks that way," he replied with a small smile. "Felix is in prison in another state under a new identity. You two are here," he said, gesturing between the girls. "But it looks like Marcus is getting rid of all his brother's old loyal soldiers. That may prove to be a good thing. We'll see." He smiled at Alice and then Bella. "No worries, girls. I personally feel this is good news, but I'll keep you posted."

Gripping my hair, my eyes looked up when Jasper stood.

"Thank you for letting us know, Al," he said with a nod. "I gotta get goin', Ali," he sighed, kissing her lips. "Love you."

"Love you, too," she parroted.

But it was the sudden stiffness in my arms that caught my attention. Bella had gone rigid at the sound of those words. It was the first time those two had said them out loud in our company. My heart hurt that she looked uncomfortable and even more when she stood up suddenly in order to clean up our lunch mess.

Jasper and Alice had missed it, but I had a feeling Uncle Al had caught it all, because his eyes were on Bella's retreating form that disappeared into the kitchen.

I was completely at a loss, because I wanted to say them, but not because someone else had. And I didn't know exactly where Bella and I stood, which was all my fucking fault because I was too fucking chicken-shit to just hand the sweet, beautiful girl my heart. Hell, she already had it. But remembering the way she'd sounded when she'd said it in her sleep made my forehead break out into a sweat.

"Edward—"

"Don't," I sighed, shaking my head at my uncle. "Just...don't."

I was about to follow her into the kitchen, when his cell phone rang.

"Chambers," he answered, listening to a rather loud voice I couldn't quite make out. "Whoa! Slow down. Where?"

Jasper had stopped in the doorway when Al's voice had risen.

"Give me ten minutes. I'm on my way," he growled, ending the call and shoving his phone into his pocket. "Fuck. I've got a prisoner transport bus now overturned on the highway. Looks like we got a few runners."

"Oh hell." I groaned, my eyes landing on Bella, who was watching from the kitchen archway. My nostrils flared, and I shook my head. I needed to get out of the house; I need fucking space. Standing up, I said, "Fuck it. I'll go with you."

"You're on time off, Ed. No way," Al argued, but I could see he looked hopeful. "You're in charge of—"

"Jasper's got this. You'll need my speed on this chase. Who was on that transport?" I interrupted him.

"A bunch of nobodies and one high risk," he stated, now looking over at Bella. "Donald Carson Handy."

"Handy?!" Jasper and I yelled at the same time.

I gripped my hair. "Handy, the serial rapist. I escorted that asshole to prison. Where the hell was he going?"

"Iowa. To answer for more charges against him," Al stated. "If you're going," he started, glancing up at me, "then we need to go. I could use you. Got a shirt?"

"Yeah," I snapped, stalking back to Bella's room, where my USMS shirt was sitting clean and neatly folded on the end of her dresser. I heard the door close behind me as I stripped my black T-shirt off, tossed it on the bed, and then tugged the navy blue T-shirt on over my head.

"You're going," Bella stated softly.

I turned to face her, feeling everything all at once. I felt trapped and scared because of what she expected of me – I could see it all over her face. My chest ached at the worry that was already taking over her features. And I felt the need to fall at her feet and worship her for the rest of my life, my job be damned. It was that last thought that made me snap at her.

"This is my job, Bella. Tell me now if you can't handle it," I ordered, looping my belt through my jeans.

"No, that's not..." She shook her head a little, glancing down at her bare feet. "If anyone knows what your job is, it's me." She met my gaze for a moment. "I just...I want you to be careful. I _need _you to be careful."

I gritted my teeth and nodded, falling down on the edge of the bed to pull my socks and shoes on. "I'm always careful."

"I know. You're amazing at your job, Edward."

My gaze snapped up to meet hers, but I could see her fighting her tears. No one had ever said that to me, not even Al.

"You're pushing me away right now, and I get it. I kinda reacted poorly in there," she sighed, coming nowhere near me, choosing to lean back against the bedroom door instead. "I'm sorry."

I tied my last shoe and stood up, walking to the door to stand in front of her. "I'll be back. I promise," I vowed, unable to touch her. If I touched her, I'd bare my soul to her, and now wasn't the time because Al was calling for me from the living room.

The tears Bella had kept at bay finally fell when she looked up at me. "You'd better be, but...you need to know before you walk out this door... I need you back, Edward Cullen. I love you."

My eyes closed at the sound of those words, because fuck me, they sounded a whole hell of a lot better now than they had when she'd been sleeping.

"I just...couldn't let you leave without you knowing that."

My forehead fell to hers, and my fist punched the door by her head. This wasn't how I'd thought I'd feel. I felt exposed, like every nerve ending was being set on fire. I felt naked in front of her, and I wanted so badly to say it back, but not when I was about to walk out the door and into the line of fire. And I damn well wasn't saying it just because someone else had.

Instead, I kissed the ever-loving shit out of her until we were both panting. My lips brushed her cheek, and I could taste the salt from her tears. "This conversation isn't over, beautiful. Just on hold. Got me?" I whispered in her ear. "I just need—"

She nodded, a small sniffle escaping her. "Space from me. Yeah, I know," she interrupted me. "I know that part of you, too, Edward."

I nodded, thoroughly reminded about how I'd treated her when we first met, but Al called my name again.

"How long?" she asked, slipping away from me so I could open the door.

"As long as it takes," I answered softly. "I hope I catch the bastard before the sun sets, but..."

She smiled a little, waving me on. "If anyone can, it's you."

I didn't have anything to say to that, so I left the room and joined Al, who was on his phone barking instructions. He took one look at me, frowned, and then turned to Bella. "Sweet one, I'll keep you posted."

She nodded, waved, and said, "Thanks, Uncle Al."

Al eyed my bike as I walked toward it. "Meet me at the office. Take the fastest way you can, but be fucking careful."

I passed Jasper in the driveway. "You watch over her for me. Swear it," I barely said aloud through gritted teeth.

"On my life, Ed," he whispered back.

Satisfied with that, I nodded once, straddling my bike and starting the engine as Al got into his car. I was peeling out and down the street before I could change my damn mind.

**~oOo~**

**A/N ****#2:**** What's the saying? Careful what you wish for? Hmm, that applies here, I think. You wanted "I love you" out there, and now it is…on one side. I will remind you that Edward – and Bella, for that matter – have been hurt deeply prior to this. Setting their hearts out there for anyone would be scary, but setting their hearts out in **_**this situation**_** is terrifying. Don't panic. I promise you that in the end, all of this is worth it.**

**We did get a peek at Uncle Edward and babysitting duty and an update with Caius – who is now heading to Attica (sounds fun) – and next, you'll see Edward truly at work. ;) Pics for this chapter (You DON'T want to miss them! Lemon, motorcycle, Edward and Ladybug!) are up on Jenny's site. Plus, we added both cars to the last chapter's pics and one new one to New York (chapter 21). As always, you can find the link on our profile. :)**

**No rec this time, but soon. I just finished writing the last chapter of **_**Pieces of You**_**. So I will be tackling my endless TBR list soon. There are some that are calling my name to read. I'll let you know via FB what I discover. ;)**

**Okay, we'll see you guys on Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb. :****)**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N #1: Wow. The reactions for last chapter were pretty much what we expected. We got a few that still think Edward can do no wrong, a LOT that think he acted like an ass and needs to shape up, yet they still know he's redeemable, and one or two that seem to hate him and don't think he can make up for how he acted last chapter. If you're one in that last category, I suggest you stop reading now. ;) 'Cause you're just an Edward-hater or a man-hater in general, and we don't want to listen to you bitch anymore. Go find a f/f femslash story.**

**For those that want to find out if/how Edward makes it up to Bella, keep reading. ;) And know that we have appreciated every review that isn't a flame, even if you are incredibly unhappy with Edward (as you should be. ;) WE were!)**

**Lots happening in this chapter, so I'll let you get to it. See us at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 26**

**Bella POV**

As soon as Al's car and Edward's motorcycle disappeared from view, I stumbled back a few steps. I couldn't keep my eyes off the door after Jasper closed it, and I ignored Alice's call of my name. I felt like my chest had been ripped wide open. I'd given him my heart, and he hadn't been able to get away fast enough. It had been for work, but still, it had also been his choice, not a direct order from his boss.

"Bella, sweetie?" Alice said softly, moving up to stand in front of me.

I shook my head and turned, moving quickly back to my bedroom as my tears finally fell.

Shutting the bedroom door behind me, I stood there, my heart aching, my breaths coming unevenly as I surveyed the rumpled sheets from where we'd spent hours in bed together. Then my eyes fell on the T-shirt he'd pulled off in order to put on the USMS one I'd had. Without giving it a second thought, I pulled my own shirt off and picked the well-worn, soft, black one up from the floor, sliding it on over my head. It was one of his larger shirts, so it nearly swallowed me, but it smelled like Edward, and that was what mattered.

I curled onto my side on the bed, burying my face in the pillow he'd used, and cried.

For what seemed like hours, I couldn't seem to get a handle on my thoughts and fears and emotions. Had I pushed him away somehow? He'd admitted to needing space from me. Had I been so needy that he couldn't handle it? Had my declaration of love finally given him the last push out the door that he'd needed? I knew he was gun-shy about relationships since his history with Maggie in college. It was why he didn't "do" relationships – until me. And I totally understood. I'd been the same way after Mike. But I thought we had something special, something lasting. Maybe I'd just been fooling myself.

"Bella?" Alice's voice called softly as she knocked lightly on the bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

Sniffling, I croaked out, "Yeah, Pix. Come in."

She opened the door and immediately crossed to the bed, pulling me into her arms when I sat up, clutching the pillow tightly. "Oh sweetie." She hugged me as I began to cry again, ignoring the salty tears dripping onto her shirt. "Go ahead and let it out."

"He...he left," I gasped out, feeling the ache in my chest get ever-so-much stronger.

"I know, Bella," Alice said, her hands rubbing up and down my back as she hugged me tighter.

"No, you don't understand," I told her, shaking my head. "I told him I loved him, and he left."

She started to speak, but must have decided not to say whatever she'd been planning to say, because she just rocked me in her arms and let me cry.

When I was finally able to calm down enough to speak, I sat up, swiping at my eyes, and admitted, "I don't know what to do...what to feel."

Alice looked at me and smiled sadly. "I can't tell you that, sweetie. I'm sorry."

I laughed wryly and shook my head. "No, I know. Just sayin'. I feel like he's been using the excuse of being busy with his family to pull away, even if it's his subconscious. He has...not had a good history with relationships"—Alice knew that much of his past, so I wasn't spilling any secrets there—"and I'm worried that even if he does feel the same, he's been burned too badly in the past to take that risk again now."

"B, I don't think that's it," Alice argued softly, putting her hand on my jean-covered knee. "He probably didn't want to say it as he was running out the door. Don't jump to conclusions. Hang in there until you've had a chance to actually talk to him."

I knew she was right. Before he'd left my room, he'd said the conversation wasn't over. But his reaction to those three little words hadn't given me much hope.

When I didn't respond, Alice sighed and squeezed my knee. "I hope it's okay, but I told Jazz to go ahead and go help his friend move. He said if we needed him, we just need to call him and he'll come straight here." She paused, biting her lip. "I hope that was okay."

"Yeah, Ali," I sighed. "That's fine."

"Okay, good." She smiled and stood, reaching out for my hand. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go see if our old standby can make you smile."

"_Princess Bride?_" At her nod, I couldn't help but grin and said, "Perfect."

I loved that movie and could almost quote the whole thing. It had been our go-to movie when we were feeling sick or lonely after our parents died. We'd last watched it about two weeks before Eleazar's murder.

~oOo~

It had been a couple of hours since Edward had left with Al. I was still in shock, feeling pretty damn numb, and my eyes hurt from the crying I'd done on Alice's shoulder. So when my phone rang, I reached for it hungrily, hoping against hope it would be Edward. Instead, an unknown number flashed across the screen.

Alice paused the movie as I hit Accept and then said, "Hello?"

"Yes, hello. Is this Bella Swan?"

I didn't recognize the woman's voice, so I cautiously said, "Yes, this is she."

"My name is Joyce Robinson, and I'm calling from Virginia Mason Medical Center about your application."

Freezing, I raised both eyebrows at Alice and mouthed, "The hospital," before turning my attention back to the phone. "Was there a problem?"

"Oh, no. No problem at all. In fact, we're very interested in having you come in for an interview."

"I...yes, of course," I gushed, feeling nerves and excitement course through me. "When?"

Ms. Robinson chuckled. "Tomorrow morning, if possible. I know it's short notice, but the woman in the position we're filling is pregnant, and due to some problems, she's having to stop working much sooner than we'd anticipated. We're hoping to have someone new starting Monday so she'll have a week to train them before she leaves."

I quickly answered, "Tomorrow morning is fine."

"Excellent. How about nine o'clock? If you come in the front entrance, ask at the desk for directions on how to get back to the business offices, and someone will direct you. When you get to the offices, ask for me, and I'll take you back to where we'll conduct the interview."

"Great," I said, cementing her name – Joyce Robinson – to memory. "Thank you so much for calling."

"Thank you, Ms. Swan," she replied. "I look forward to meeting you in the morning. Have a good afternoon."

When I clicked to hang up the phone, I squealed and turned to Alice, explaining what she hadn't already deduced from the conversation.

"You know what this means?" Alice asked excitedly.

I shook my head, laughing at her enthusiasm. "What?"

"Girls' night!"

Jasper had been called into work not long after he'd left. Alice had gotten a quick call from him on his way to the office, explaining that everyone had been called in on the case of the escaped rapist, so he was going to be over comms with Edward – Alice was just glad he'd be in the office, relaying messages and instructions via radio and phone instead of out in the field.

Shaking my head away from thoughts of Edward, I grinned. "Manis, pedis, and John Hughes?" We'd gotten a big selection of his movies when we bought the Blu-ray player and we hadn't broken into them yet.

"Hell yes," she said. "_Pretty in Pink_ and _Sixteen Candles_..."

I laughed, pulling her from the couch as I stood. "You get the movies, the wine, and the towels. I'll get the foot soak and nail stuff. We'll meet back here in five."

~oOo~

Friday morning, I woke up from a fitful sleep when the alarm on my phone beeped. I was a mix of emotions still – worry over Edward's safety and our relationship, nerves over the upcoming interview, and fear that I'd screw one or both of those things up. I desperately wanted a shot of something strong to calm my nerves, but figured showing up with alcohol in my system wasn't the best way to get the job. Instead, I took my time in the shower, shaving and then letting the hot water soothe the tension from my shoulders.

Then I dressed in the clothes Alice and I had picked out the night before – a navy skirt that fell to my knees, a white long-sleeved blouse, and a lightweight, light blue cardigan. I pulled on a pair of black low-heeled pumps, blew my hair out in loose waves, and added just enough makeup for a soft, natural look.

By eight fifteen, I was ready to go, insisting to Alice that we go ahead and leave, even though I knew we'd be early. When she agreed, I grabbed my small purse, into which I'd added my lip gloss, compact, and phone – which was turned completely off – and the hard copies of my resume before moving out to her little car.

"You'll be _fine,_ Bella," she soothed a few minutes later as she pulled up to the hospital entrance. "Stop worrying so much. You've got the stuff memorized that you needed to know, you're more than qualified for the job, and they're going to love you."

Swallowing back my nerves, I nodded. "Thanks. You'll be out here when I finish?"

"Of course," she chirped, smiling. "Now, go wow them, okay?"

"Thanks, Pix."

Once I'd closed the car door behind me, I steeled my shoulders, took a deep breath, and then headed through the automatic doors.

I nearly skipped out of the hospital almost an hour and a half later, feeling so much lighter than when I'd entered. The interview had gone well, and they'd seemed to like me as much as I'd liked them.

Alice pulled up to the entrance a couple of minutes later, after I pulled out my phone, turned it on, and texted her to let her know I was finished. I got into the car and squealed excitedly. "It went so well! Joyce was so nice, and Caroline, the woman I'd be replacing, was really sweet." I continued telling her all about the interview, finishing with, "They said they'd call to let me know one way or the other by this afternoon, but I feel really good about it, Alice. Truly."

"That's so great!" Alice said excitedly, turning more fully to face me. She'd parked in a spot at the far end of the parking lot while I told her about the interview. "I have news of my own..." Her face was calm, her tone even, but her eyes held a light and excitement that could only mean one thing.

"You got the job?" I gasped.

She nodded, bouncing in her seat. "ADI just called about twenty minutes ago and said if I wanted it, it was mine. I start Monday!"

"That's _so_ great, sweetie!" I leaned over as best I could with the seat belt across my chest and hugged her tight. "I'm so happy for you, Alice."

When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. "Thanks, B."

~oOo~

I spent a nervous three hours waiting to hear from the hospital. When the call finally came, I bit my lip and hit Accept, answering with a shaky, "Hello?"

"Bella? This is Joyce at Virginia Mason."

"Yes, hi."

There was a pause, and then the sweet older woman said, "We were all quite enchanted and impressed this morning, and your background check came back clean, so we would love it if you would accept the position to start Monday."

"Really?" My mind began racing, nearly making me dizzy. "That's amazing! Thank you so much."

I listened, nodding dumbly, as she rattled off the salary and benefits, including holiday schedules and paid time off.

"Would that be acceptable, Bella?"

"Yes, that sounds great. Of course I accept," I told her without missing a beat.

Joyce sighed, sounding relieved. "Great. That's great, Bella. You'll start at eight o'clock Monday morning, but if you can be here about thirty minutes early, you can fill out all the necessary paperwork before then."

I listened as she told me where I could park, where to go first to get my ID picture taken for my badge, and what paperwork I needed to bring.

"I think that's it, Bella," she finally said. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"No, I think you answered everything this morning. Thank you for everything, Joyce."

"My pleasure, Bella. We'll see you Monday morning. Have a good weekend."

When I turned around after hanging up, Alice was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and Jasper, who must have arrived when I was on the phone, was behind her.

"You got it?" she asked, her tiny little body nearly vibrating with excitement.

I paused, watching her bounce in place for a moment, and then nodded with a grin. "I start Monday."

She squealed and threw her arms around me, and both of us jumped up and down in place for a minute like teenage girls, until it finally registered to me what Jasper being there meant.

Pulling away, I asked, "Did they get him?"

He smiled, nodding. "They did. Ed and his team, along with the sheriff and his deputies, caught the runner, and Edward's escorting him back to prison where the asshole belongs. I came here as soon as Al sent those of us at the office home."

"And Edward's okay?" I was worried and a little hurt that I hadn't heard from him, but I knew he probably still had his hands full with the transport.

"He's fine, darlin'. He shot the guy in the leg when he wouldn't give up the hostage or the knife he had to her throat, but he's okay."

I swallowed hard, nodding, and managed to get out, "Okay," without shedding the tears I could feel beginning to sting my eyes.

Alice squeezed my shoulders and said, "We should celebrate. Jazzy, know any good clubs? We could go dancing."

I froze under her arm, remembering the last time we'd gone to a club. "Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," I said shakily.

Nodding in understanding, Jasper smiled and said, "How about you trust me with this one? I have someplace in mind I think would work."

Alice looked at me questioningly, and I nodded, smiling over at him gratefully. "Thanks, Jasper."

"No problem, sweetheart."

"I'm gonna go..." I let my voice trail off and gestured to the door. "I need some air, so I'm gonna take a walk."

Frowning, Alice nodded but said, "Keep your phone on?"

I assured her I would and then slipped out the door after making sure it was in my jeans pocket.

Not having any set direction in mind, I just took off walking, waving to a few neighbors as I passed. The fresh air helped clear my head. I realized that even though Edward hadn't called or texted, I had to have faith that he would come back to me. I knew he had feelings for me. I even believed he loved me. My hope was that the time away from me, especially after I'd told him I loved him, would give him some perspective and make him realize he felt the same.

If it didn't... Well, it would hurt – more than anything had hurt in a long, long time, in fact – but I'd have to learn to live with that. My sister and I were safe, we both had great new jobs, and we had an adorable, great house to live in. If it had to be, that would be good enough for me.

~oOo~

The weekend passed in a blur. Jasper took us to a small pub Friday night, where we'd eaten great bar food, played pool, and drunk some of the great house beers. It had been an almost perfect celebration. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Edward had been with us, but I still hadn't heard from him. Then Saturday, Alice and I had gone shopping for all the new clothes and shoes, handbags, and makeup I'd need for my new job, as well as a few more clothes for her to wear to and from work and when she needed to be dressed in something other than her dancewear. Sunday had been a lazy day around the house, washing clothes, watching movies, and playing a massive game of Monopoly between the three of us that had lasted a good four hours before we finally called it a draw.

Now, I was dressing for my first day of work and trying to not throw up. I felt like I'd lost all my confidence in myself that Friday night in May in New York – and even I knew that didn't make sense, but I couldn't shake that feeling. I hadn't slept much the night before, wishing Edward was there to hold me and tell me things would be fine. I missed him with a sickness. Jasper hadn't heard from him all weekend. When he tried calling, Edward's phone went straight to voicemail. I'd given him the space he needed, choosing not to call him myself, figuring if he wanted to talk to me, he'd call. But it had been hard to ignore the pull that kept drawing me to my phone, and I'd found my thumb hovering over his name on my list of contacts more than once.

Shaking off thoughts of Edward and any self-doubt, I pulled my hair back and clipped it with a gold clip at the base of my neck, smoothing out a few stray hairs, and slid on my heels. My gray pencil skirt and soft white short-sleeved sweater looked professional but stylish, my makeup was understated, and I looked ready to take on the world – or at least the business office of Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Alice had already left for the day, needing to gas up her car before work. She'd looked adorable in a soft, flowy skirt and gauzy top, her dance bag full of clothes and dance shoes hanging off her shoulder. She'd hugged me and wished me luck, and I'd watched her go with a heavy heart. But it was for the best, and it was time for us to move on with our lives.

With that in mind, I locked up the house and made my way to Edward's Audi. I'd been hesitant about taking it to the hospital and leaving it in the parking garage all day, but Jasper had assured me the night before that it was what Edward would have wanted.

Now all I had to do was get through my first day of work, and then I could relax again.

_Easier said than done,_ I thought as I parked in a spot on the third level and began my walk to the hospital.

When I got to the front entrance, I noticed a sleek Mercedes pull up and a tall blond man unfold himself from the front seat.

_Holy shit!_ I knew that face!

How I'd forgotten that Edward's father was a doctor was beyond me. He'd never mentioned where Carlisle worked, and Jasper certainly hadn't said anything when I told him about my new job opportunity a few days before, or even after I'd gotten the job on Friday.

A glance at the car showed a beautiful woman with caramel-colored hair, and I recognized her instantly as Edward's mother, Esme. For a moment, I was worried when she smiled before pulling away, but then I realized they didn't know who I was, so I was safe.

When Carlisle gestured for me to go first, I so wanted to ask him if he'd heard from Edward, but I kept my smile on my face and thanked him instead.

At the first hallway, Carlisle went one way, while I went the other, and I was able to breathe a little easier as I made my way to the office that would take my picture and give me my ID.

Fifteen minutes after arriving at the hospital, I was the proud owner of a new hospital ID badge clipped to the waistband of my skirt so it was visible but not in the way, and I was standing outside the door to the business office. Taking a deep breath, I whispered under my breath, "You can do this, Bella Swan," and then stepped through the door with a smile as my new coworkers greeted me enthusiastically.

So far, my day was off to a great start.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Load 'em up!" Al called from the other side of the SUV in the garage. "I want us on-sight in less than ten minutes."

"Sir," was the instant response, followed by the sound of several car doors slamming.

We'd stopped by the office to gear up, gather a team to add to the one already combing the wreck area, and grab as much information as we could before joining the police in this chase.

Al and I were alone in his SUV, but he was on the phone in contact with those at the wreck. My nerves and my temper were both right there on the surface, only being force-fed by the adrenaline now pumping through my veins. I screamed through the streets, aiming for the interstate so I could follow the track the transport bus had been on. Once I hit the I-90, Al ended his call, and I could feel his eyes on me.

"You want to tell me what happened back at that house, son?" he asked.

"No." I focused on the road in front of me, weaving in and around cars.

He sighed deeply, and in my side vision, I could see his head shake slowly back and forth. "Well, then, since you're so damned quiet, you can listen to me before we get to the wreck."

My nostrils flared, and I did my best to ignore the memory of Bella's tear-filled face, the sound of her saying that she loved me. I couldn't allow that to knock me off my game. I needed to do my job. If I were being honest with myself, this was a test as to whether I could do this job with her in my life, but I wasn't being honest. I was being a selfish prick who kept taking and taking from the one person I cared most about.

"That sweet, beautiful girl really cares about you, Edward," he started.

"I know," I grunted, squeezing the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles turned white.

"She's not Maggie."

That statement was delivered gently, but it hung in the air between us like heavy smoke. I swallowed thickly and nodded, which seemed to give him an indication that he could continue.

"Bella's not out for anything but you. Not money, or that car you're letting her drive, or even your protection. I see it every time she looks at you. I saw it the first time she snapped at me about the shooting in Connecticut. It's not about what you have or what you do, it's about who you are, son. And I'd hate to see her hurt because you can't see it."

I huffed a humorless laugh. "What about me, huh?" I asked him, finally shooting him a scathing glance.

"You're a big boy, Edward. And I know you wouldn't be with her now if you didn't feel _something_. You wouldn't have given her the time of day during that WitSec detail, much less bust your ass to be with her every damn day now that it's over, if you didn't care for her. I know that much," he explained, holding up his badge when we passed through the roped-off scene we were nearing.

I pulled off the side of the road, eyeing the wreck. The grayish transport bus looked like it had rolled. Windows were busted – though the metal bars seemed to be intact – the engine was steaming, and there were several inmates sitting down on the grass in a neat little row with their hands on their heads. Guards and prisoners alike were being tended to by EMTs.

I turned off the car and turned to my uncle. "Bella would never hurt me."

"So you're using her?"

I balled up my fists until every knuckle cracked. "No, I just...I wasn't prepared for her reaction. She expects too much," I murmured, not believing a word of it.

He laughed, shaking his head. "She expects too much? She expects someone to care for her, _about_ her? She expects not to be pushed away and pushed away? If you're using her, then I'm pulling you from the detail. You're no longer her handler. Whitlock can handle both of them. Or I'll find someone else." He reached for the door handle of the SUV.

My mouth fell open with the finality of his tone. Gripping his shirt sleeve, I stopped him. "No one, and I fucking mean _no one,_ touches her! She trusts _me_! I know her, everything about her. You can't just send someone else in there! They won't get it! You hear me, asshole?"

He grinned my way. "Huh. Imagine that. You _do_ care. Who knew?" he sang, shrugging a shoulder. "Find me my runner and go back to your girl, Edward. You've played the selfish kid long enough. It's time to grow up. Because I'm telling you now, son, you'll regret it if you don't."

He opened the door and stepped out into a throng of cops and marshals, who were instantly filling him in on facts, locations, and directions. I followed him, slamming the door behind me. Al took the lead, stepping in front of everyone and holding up his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have runners!" he yelled, looking at his watch. "They've been on the run for approximately twenty-seven minutes. We have one on foot, the other has stolen a car that stopped after the wreck. Both are without restraints after knocking out the guard in the back and taking his keys, both are still in jail attire, and both are most likely armed and dangerous." He surveyed everyone around him. "Cullen, I want you and your team to take our car thief, which just happens to be our beloved Donald Carson Handy. Get with the office, have them run down the tracking device. It was a newer car. Go!"

I spun to face my team, which consisted of myself and two other men and a woman. "My team, on me! Load up!" I pointed toward the SUV.

Settling my earpiece into my ear, I patched into dispatch. "This is Cullen. I need everything you can give me on a late model minivan, Chevy, Washington license plate: alpha, charlie, zero, niner, echo, two. It's a rental, so you should be able to patch into the tracking device."

"Ten-four," was the response back, and I cranked up the car, smiling at who was on the other line.

"I thought you were moving someone, Jasper."

"We all got called in, Ed – new house or not. I'm in your ear. Copy?"

I smiled and nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Copy that. Hit me with what you got."

"You're gonna wanna head south, Ed. Looks like our boy's heading toward Oregon," Jasper advised, and I pulled back onto the road and into traffic. "He's got you by about thirty miles, south on I-5."

"Copy," I sighed, practically pressing the gas pedal to the floor.

"Who's our target?" he asked.

"Handy."

"Aw, hell. Well, he's heading toward the woods."

"Don't I know it."

Donald Carson Handy was a serial rapist with an affinity for the great outdoors. He preferred the woods and cabins to people and cities. He liked his girls young, blonde, and quiet. He was already serving three life sentences for three girls in the Seattle-Tacoma area. He'd pulled them off the streets, kept them in his father's cabin in the woods for three to four days, only to drop them off somewhere with their bodies mangled. Handy was a monster. He was a pompous motherfucker, too. He'd hummed a song the whole way I'd escorted his dumb ass to prison. He didn't give a shit one bit that he was going away, because he'd only been caught on three murders, but there had been rumors that there had been more.

"We gotta catch this asshole before he snatches up a girl. He'll do it, too," I told Jasper over the line.

Jasper grunted in agreement. "Okay, well, let's get to work."

~oOo~

I glanced at my watch and then up at the stars. It was close to five o'clock on Friday morning, and my first thought was of Bella. I hoped she was sleeping; she looked like an angel when she was asleep...and the essence of temptation when she was awake. The mere thought of her hadn't left my mind all night and made my chest hurt.

We'd been after this asshole all fucking night. Just when we thought we had him, he'd pulled off into a McDonald's and taken another car right out of the goddamn drive-thru at knife-point. And he was smarter this time, having taken an older truck without a tracker in it. And that's where we were stuck – that very McDonald's.

"Cullen?" I heard behind me.

Turning to face the one woman on my team, I adjusted my baseball cap. "Yeah, what'cha got for me, Pope?"

"I've been thinking. This guy we're after, he's from Hoquiam, right?" Amanda Pope asked tentatively, though I didn't blame her. I'd been a hard shit all damn night.

"Mmhm," I hummed with a nod.

"And it was thought that there were more women than just the ones he'd been convicted for. Plus, he was a...souvenir-keeper, right? Pictures. So maybe he's heading—"

"Fuck me! He's heading home! Everyone in the car!" I yelled, gripping her shoulder to stop her. "If we're wrong, then we've wasted time, but if we're right..."

"Yes, sir," she simply said, smiling a little. "I just hope he's creepy enough that I'm right."

Grinning, I nodded, yanking open the SUV and tapping my earpiece at the same time. "Jazz?"

"Talk to me."

"I need the local Hoquiam cops to surround Handy's old cabin, but do not approach! I need them to find out if anyone has seen vehicles head down that old road. He's got enough of a head start that he should've already been there."

"On it."

We passed Aberdeen within the hour, and I pulled off the two-lane highway when I saw the local sheriff up ahead. I was approached by an older gentleman wearing jeans and a cop's button-down. He reached out his hand to shake mine.

"Cullen? I'm Sheriff Morris."

"Sir," I said with a nod. "This is Pope, Crawford, and Collins," I introduced.

He nodded at my team, giving his attention back to me. "The news kinda gave us a heads-up. We saw the alerts go out, too, so I had already made sure my guys were on the road. Donnie is pretty damned predictable." He sighed with a slow shake of his head and a glance at the woods around us. "I knew the kid growing up." He looked back to me. "Anyway, we think he's down there. The closest neighbor swore she saw a truck pull in when she left for work. Called it in to me. This road had been blocked off, as you can see." He gestured to some old chains that had been tossed to the side.

"Got it." I glanced down the old, weather-beaten dirt road, biting my lip in order to think. "I'd like to go in on foot."

"We can back you up."

"Roger that. Much appreciated, Sheriff," I stated, tapping my earpiece with one finger while silently telling my team to gear up. "Jasper, patch me into Al."

"Hang on a sec, Edward. You need to know...a girl went missing in Aberdeen."

"Shit!" I growled.

"Yup. She was last seen walking to the local convenience store, and a big blue pickup stopped."

That brought the whole group of us to a standstill.

"Got it. Get me Al."

The line beeped, but Al grunted a loud, "Chambers."

"Al. We think we have Handy. I'm in Hoquiam."

"The little fucker went home, huh?"

"Yes, sir. We're about to approach on foot."

"Roger that. You've got the last runner. The other one was caught not long after you left."

"Al, we think he has a hostage," I told him.

The line was quiet for a moment, until he said, "I'm on my way to you. Keep me posted. Patch every step you make through to me."

"Ten-four."

I turned to face my team and Morris. His two deputies stepped up to listen. "On me... We're going in silent, on foot, and fast. I want a perimeter around the entire cabin. Collins, take the west side. Crawford, take the east. Pope, you're with me around to the back. Sheriff, if you and your men could take it straight up the driveway, I'd appreciate it." When everyone nodded in agreement, I barked, "Let's move out!"

The radio was silent, save for a few whispers of location. My vest, my equipment, and my cap made me sweat like hell as I ran through the woods. Pope and I veered off to the left to round the property, but I noted a small flicker of light coming from inside.

"We have movement inside," I stated in a whisper over the radio. "Keep your distance and keep your eyes peeled."

Once Pope and I were in position, she looked to me. "Did you bring me with you 'cause I'm the girl?"

I huffed a quiet laugh, shaking my head. "Nope. I brought you because you seem to have Handy's file memorized. I'm nothing if not an opportunist." The very second the words left my mouth, my thoughts went to Bella and a conversation we'd had about what we were doing with each other.

She laughed. "Yeah, I studied him in training."

"Ah," I said softly. "Excellent. Then tell us about this place."

Smirking, she nodded. "There are two points of entry – front and back. There are only two rooms in this cabin – a living area and a bedroom – plus the outhouse in the western corner of the property. No electricity, no running water, and a well just out front."

A muffled cry came from the cabin, and the hairs prickled up on the back of my neck.

"Collins, you and the sheriff take the front door. Crawford, you and Pope watch those two windows on the side, and if the deputies could back me up at the back, we're going in on my say," I ordered quietly over the radio.

Pope split off to my right, and I could see Crawford moving closer to the cabin on my left. I motioned to the two deputies to take the left and right of the back door. I readied my weapon, flipping the safety off.

"In three, two, one..." I whispered, giving the back door a swift kick at the same time the front door shattered on its hinges. An exposed nail caught the back of my hand, but I ignored the pain. "Handy! Put your hands where I can see 'em!" I ordered, locking my weapon on him.

"No can do," he sang with a grin, pulling a small-framed girl in front of him, a rather large knife pointing at her throat. He was still in his orange prison jumpsuit, and his hair was a greasy mess, his hands filthy.

The poor girl couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen. She had long blonde hair and red-rimmed blue eyes, and she was clawing at his arm that was around her neck.

"You gotta ease up on her, Handy. She can't breathe," I warned him, stepping two steps closer.

The sheriff and Collins moved in at the same time.

Handy laughed and gave the girl a cursory glance. "She's fine, right, baby?"

"I'm pretty sure that knife is gonna keep her in line. She'll do what you want, so _ease __the fuck up_!" I snapped at him, trying to decide where I was going to put a bullet into this asshole. His shoulder, upper thigh, and the middle of his goddamn forehead were looking pretty fucking good. "This won't end well, Handy. You won't get what you want from her, you're still going to back to prison, and you're still a fucking loser," I taunted him, giving him a small half-grin, happy that the girl was no longer turning blue from lack of oxygen.

"I'm not going back!" he yelled.

"Oh, but you are," I countered, finally deciding that it was safer to aim for his leg. "The odds are against you, my friend. See..." I jerked a chin toward the rest of the men. "And that's not all. There are more outside. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's some cross-hairs aimed your way through both windows. Let her go, Handy."

"You'll have to kill me," he stated, shaking his head, but his eyes betrayed him as they glanced from the men surrounding him to the two windows.

I grinned, shrugged a shoulder, and said, "Okay," pulling the trigger.

Screams from the girl rang out, but Handy hit the floor, holding his leg, and the knife skidded across the wood floor. I tugged the girl out of the way, sending her into the arms of the sheriff, my knee landing heavily into the middle of Handy's chest. He grunted and then groaned when I didn't let up, despite the flesh wound I'd given him. I'd just barely grazed the side of his leg.

Pulling out my cuffs, I rolled him over and secured his wrists. Tightly. Looking over my shoulder, I said, "We'll need a bus. He'll need this looked at."

"Already on its way," Sheriff Morris stated, pulling his cell phone from his ear.

On the front porch, I could see the young girl being tended to by Collins and Pope. She was shaken, but at least she was still in one piece.

"Jasper," I called over my earpiece.

"Yeah?"

"Tell Al to come pick this piece of shit up," I ordered.

"Ten-four," he said with a bit of a laugh to his tone. He came back instantly with, "He's twenty from your location. He said to stay put."

I tugged Handy up by a handful of his jumpsuit, slamming him into the wall before lugging his crazy ass outside. The cabin was making me antsy. I found the closest tree, slammed him into the trunk, and then forced him to the ground.

"Blink wrong and I'll put a bullet through your hand so you can't defend yourself from the sisters in your dorm," I told him, pointing my gun at him before pulling out a much-needed cigarette, which only reminded me that I really shouldn't be smoking because Bella hated it. Handy paled at the mere thought, and I snorted. "Really? You rape and kill women and you can't understand how it could possibly be done to you? Sit there and stay fucking quiet."

All my anger, all the confusion that was bubbling up inside of me wanted to spill out all over this asshole. If I didn't step away from him, I'd kill him out of sheer frustration and lack of sleep.

"Crawford, come watch this guy so I don't accidentally kill him," I said, kicking Handy's wounded leg lightly on my way by, causing him to cry out – much to my satisfaction.

I fell down onto the front step, blowing out a lungful of smoke, letting the nicotine settle me down. I needed a drink. A strong fucking drink. And I wasn't going to stop at just one or two. I took my cap off, ran my fingers through my hair, and tugged it back on, eyeing the deep scratch on the back of my hand that had stopped bleeding, and then I leaned back against the post to wait for Al.

~oOo~

"Well, well, well, look who it is..."

Smirking, I took a seat at the bar. "Barb, you're lookin' good," I told the woman pouring me a glass of Jack. "Leave the bottle."

"Oh, it's that kinda night, huh, Edward?" she asked with a chuckle, slamming the bottle of Jack Daniels down in front of me.

"It's been that kinda night for months," I muttered, giving the bar a long, slow glance. "At least you're busy on a Saturday night."

"Where's your partner in crime?" she asked, pouring a beer for the guy at the end of the bar and coming back to stand in front of me.

Barb was a big woman and as rough around the edges as they came. She liked motorcycles, ink, and heavy metal, and she loved a crude, dirty joke. Plus, she poured a strong-as-hell drink. She'd been managing the hole-in-the-wall bar for as long as I'd been coming in, which was right around my second year of college. Although, I hadn't been in the old place in ages.

"Jasper's...elsewhere," I hedged, shrugging a shoulder and tossing back another shot. My hand instinctively touched the phone in my pocket that I'd turned off before leaving my house.

"Fair enough, sweetie."

He was most likely at the girls' house, something I couldn't give much thought to or I'd drive over there, and I wasn't ready to face Bella just yet.

After Al had shown up at Handy's cabin, it had taken hours to process the place, not to mention patch the asshole up. I'd had to be there for every second of it because it had been my detail, my recovery. I hadn't gotten home until almost sunset Friday night. I'd barely made it through a shower before falling into bed completely exhausted, considering I hadn't had any sleep since Wednesday night with Bella, and we hadn't exactly slept. I'd slept most of Saturday away, waking up to texts from Jasper and Emmett, not to mention voice mails. Not in the mood for any of it because I hadn't seen anything from the one person I'd expected, I'd turned the fucker completely off.

That thought made me toss another shot down my throat, making me wince at the burn on its way down. I was just about halfway through the bottle when someone spoke next to me. Hell, even Barb had left me alone.

"Wow, you look like shit," I heard from someone sliding onto the stool next to mine.

I snorted, glancing up at someone I hadn't seen in years. "Garrett. It's good to see you, too."

"You sharing that bottle, old friend?" he asked, wearing the all-knowing smirk that I remembered so well.

"No. Get your own," I said with a laugh, taking in the guy next to me.

He was just about the very same has he had been the last time I saw him – long hair that was now touched with a bit of gray, ink covering every visible inch of his arms and neck, and the same damn mustache. He reeked of beer and weed and wisdom that only came from listening to hundreds of people that sat in his tattoo chair and experiencing life on this side of town. He was Cheech Marin mixed with a Hindu priest, always talking in riddles, but like he knew exactly what someone was going through. His gray eyes cut through to my soul as he looked me over.

"You know, the last time I caught you hoarding a bottle of Jack, you had woman problems," he reminded me.

I laughed humorlessly, gesturing my middle finger at the bottle. "Mr. Daniels and I have an...understanding."

He simply nodded and stayed quiet for a moment. "Want to talk about her?"

I sniffed, and reached into my pocket for a cigarette before remembering I couldn't fucking smoke in the bar anymore, and glanced around the bar, finally shaking my head. "Not here."

He left me alone for another half an hour, finally slapping my shoulder. Grinning, he tossed some bills onto the bar. "Come on, Cullen. I got another bottle next door. Besides, I have a few new ink designs, and you were always more honest when you were drunk. And I can't let you get on that bike of yours. Barb, I've got him. Thanks for calling me."

Laughing again, simply because I was three sheets to the wind, I merely let him guide me outside. I didn't remember the walk to his apartment, or even opening the bottle he had. But the next morning, I woke up feeling like pure and utter hell. And it didn't help that I was on an old lumpy sofa.

I groaned, holding my head when I sat up too quick.

"There's a bottle of aspirin in front of you and bottle of water. I suggest you use both," Garrett said, sounding a little too amused at my pain.

I shook out several aspirin and downed the bottle of water, finally giving my surroundings a glance. The place was exactly the same. It was his tattoo shop as well as his apartment. The chair he used and his equipment was all immaculate, but his apartment was a messy disaster. He was sitting in an old, worn-out recliner, looking showered and much better off than me.

He waved a hand. "You know where the bathroom is."

After taking a piss, washing my face, and stealing a dab of toothpaste to try to rid my tongue of that furry feeling, I wandered back into his living room.

"What did I say last night?" I asked him, thinking it had been a fucking long time since I'd gotten so drunk that I didn't make it home.

He chuckled. "Not much. Only that you were an idiot. Oh, and something about someone named Bella. And you begged me to ink you again, but I won't do it when you're that fucking wasted. Makes the blood too thin."

I rubbed my face, my heart sinking at what I might have revealed about her. "What did I say, Garrett?"

"That she was your _everything_." He grinned my way when my gaze snapped to his. "You didn't say much more than that. Hell, you wouldn't tell me where you met her or even her last name, but you said she was 'fucking beautiful.'" He used air quotes, which made me roll my eyes. "Wanna tell me why you were drowning in a bottle of Jack instead of this beautiful girl, Ed?"

"'Cause I really am a fucking idiot," I sighed, falling back onto the sofa.

He sat forward, resting his inked arms on his thighs. "The last time you got drunk enough that Barb had to cut you off, you were pissed off about Maggie."

My eyes rolled to meet his gaze. "This is different."

"So I gathered." He got up, walked to his kitchen, and snatched up a paper bag, only to toss it my way. "Breakfast," he stated. "Eat something. It'll help you, and then we'll discuss this ink you want."

He gestured to the coffee table in front of me, and I couldn't help but chuckle weakly. Even in my inebriated state, Bella was there, guiding me, urging me. The piece of paper held a Batman symbol, the Dark Knight version, but the end of it shattered into what looked like a hundred bats.

I took a bite of the burger he'd given me, barely paying attention to how it tasted, and studied the design in front of me. I didn't even need to ask him – and he wouldn't have known anyway – why I'd picked that design. It screamed meaning – meaning I wasn't willing to elaborate on until I saw my girl again. And there were a few things I needed to do before I did that.

I tossed the last bite into my mouth, licking my thumb and fingers.

"You gonna tell me about her?" he asked.

"Yeah." I nodded, stood up, and held up the design. "Let's do this."

"Mm'kay," he said with a smirk. "Know where you want it?"

"Yup," I grunted, reaching back to grab the back of my shirt. "Right here," I told him, pressing a hand over my heart.

"And the girl?" he asked with a chuckle, pointing to his chair for me to sit.

"She's beautiful, and she loves me," I told him, falling down into the chair.

"And you were here last night...why?" He laughed again, waiting for my response. When I didn't answer him, he nodded knowingly. "The last time I inked you, Ed, you were young and pissed off at the world. Your heart had been splattered all over hell and back. And then the last time I saw you, what was it? Eight or nine months ago? You left Barb's bar with two airheads on your arms. Don't tell me you're still pissed off. Don't tell me you've let the mistakes someone else made keep you from this beautiful girl that you say loves you."

I looked down at my hands, unable to answer him.

"What's this mean to you?" he asked, holding up the paper, but I shook my head. "Is it something good, something positive, something better than what I put on your back? Will the pain of the needle take away the bad?"

"Yeah."

He studied my face for a moment and then nodded. "Then let's get it done."

~oOo~

"Son, you should've come to me sooner," my dad groaned, frowning at my hand.

Monday morning dawned, and the cut on my hand had flared up into something painful. It was red, swollen. My dad cleaned the cut, wrapped it tight, and pulled out two vials from his white coat pocket.

"I've been on detail and out of contact," I hedged, shrugging a shoulder, and that fucking hurt too because my entire left pec was covered in fresh ink almost all the way to my shoulder.

"Try again, son," he sighed, looking me in the eye. "Jasper's been looking for you since Saturday afternoon."

"I needed a break after I caught that guy, Dad. He was a disgusting pig of a man."

"Fair enough. He was just worried because your phone was off," he explained, filling a syringe with one of the vials. "Since it was a rusty nail you scratched this on, I'm giving you a tetanus shot – you're due – and an antibiotic. That should stop the infection."

"Yes, sir," I sighed, feeling like a kid, but I trusted no other doctor but my dad.

He chuckled at my tone, ruffling my hair after he gave me both shots. "You want a lollipop, too?"

"Hells, yes. Grape." I grinned at his chuckle.

He walked to his desk, reached into the candy jar, and tossed a purple sucker my way. "Walk with me. I have to make my way downstairs."

What I wanted was to bolt the hell out of there and head to Bella's, but from what I'd surmised, she'd turned off her phone. And I wasn't sure I blamed her. Her voicemail picked up on the first ring, and I'd hung up probably thirty times without knowing what to say. By now, she knew the fugitive recovery was over and done with and I'd simply been avoiding everyone. However, I couldn't just use my dad's medical services and run, so with every step, we met someone who needed him. It seemed to take for-fucking-ever to reach the main lobby of the hospital.

We reached main reception, and a nurse eye-fucked me from behind the desk, but she turned her attention to my dad, asking him a billion questions. My mind wandered, as did my eyes, and I had to shake my head and rub my eyes to make sure I was really seeing who I was seeing.

Bella, dressed in a fuck-hot tight gray skirt that stopped at her knees and a white sweater, was walking down the corridor toward the cafeteria.

"Dad, I'm gonna grab a cup of coffee, okay?" I told him smoothly, not bothering to wait for his answer because he looked neck-deep in a stack of patient files the nurse was showing him.

Walking as quietly but as fast I as I could, I made sure I stepped up behind her in line. Fuck me, she smelled like heaven and everything I'd missed the last few days.

Stepping as close to her as I could, I asked, "When's the last time someone told you how beautiful you were?"

The file folders and pen in her hand fell to the floor, and I bent down at the same time she did to pick them up. Our eyes stayed locked as we stood up at the same time.

"Edward," she gasped, her eyes wide and slightly fearful. No, not fear...hurt. I'd truly hurt her, and that made me feel sick to my stomach.

I eyed the badge that was shiny and brand new clipped to the waist of her skirt, but met then her eyes again. "Tell me," I said softly, reminding her of the question I'd asked.

She held out her hand at the same time she said, "A few days ago. But he left."

"Stupid bastard." I scoffed, my eyes dropping to the slight curl of her lips as I set her things in her hands.

"No," she stated firmly with a shake of her head. "I'd never accuse him of being stupid. Stubborn, pig-headed, yeah. Stupid? Definitely not."

My uninjured hand balled up into a fist, causing my knuckles to pop loudly, because it was all I could do not to kiss her stupid in the middle of the hospital's shitty cafeteria. She was mad, but still beautiful. But she had every right to be mad. She'd handed me her heart, but I'd been too scared to hand her mine.

"Baby, I'm sorry," I whispered, shaking my head and giving a glance over to where my dad was still busy.

"Next!" we heard behind us, breaking us out of whatever trance we were in.

"What'cha want, B?" I asked her.

"Coffee." At my raised eyebrow, she said simply, "I haven't slept well."

I nodded solemnly, turning to the old lady behind the counter. "Two coffees, please." I paid, grabbed both cups, and walked to the condiment station, fixing Bella's coffee the way she liked it – lots of cream and sugar.

"You're hurt," she noted, eyeing my bandaged hand.

"I'm fine. And I really am sorry, Bella." I slid the cup her way, picking up my own and taking a sip. "I owe you...an explanation." I owed her a lot more than that, but I'd start with that. "We need to finish that conversation we started before I left."

She nodded, glancing over my shoulder. "Your dad's watching you." At my surprise, she smirked. "I recognize him from the pictures, Edward."

"Yeah, I figured." I sighed forlornly, reaching over and dragging a clean napkin my way. I took the pen out of Bella's hand, jotting down my address. "Please? Just...let me explain."

"When?"

"When you're ready? Now would work, but I can wait," I urged, smirking when she cracked a smile, but she took the napkin with my address.

"I thought I couldn't see your house." Again, I noted the hurt in her tone, in her sweet brown eyes.

"Fuck protocol. There's nothing about me I want kept from you, Bella. Not anymore. And it helps that my dad just saw me 'meet' you for the first time," I said with a shrug. "So...will you? Come to my house?"

Her brow furrowed, but she nodded, tucking the napkin into her pocket. "Tonight. I get off at five. I can be there by six."

"Six." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. I'll have dinner—"

"No," she snapped in a hiss, realizing she could be overheard. "I'm coming to hear what you have to say, Edward. Depending on _what_ you say, _that_ will determine whether or not dinner is involved."

Fuck, she was sexy when she was pissed, but I merely nodded in acquiescence, afraid that if I said anything, it would be from the floor at her feet.

She started to take a step, but stopped. "I'm glad you're back safe."

"I'm happy you got the job," I countered, pointing to her badge. "And I swore to you I'd come back, baby," I told her, wanting so badly to touch her face when her eyes welled up and her lip trembled. I realized right then that there was a possibility I'd fucked up so badly that she might not show. "I'll see you at six?" I asked hopefully, begging, pleading with her in my head to say yes. I turned around to see my dad back into another conversation with a different nurse. I faced Bella again. "I gotta go. My dad's waiting. Please tell me you're coming?" I begged, no longer giving a shit that I sounded whiny. At least I wasn't on my knees in front her and everyone around us.

She steeled herself, looking me in the eyes. "I'll be there."

"Thank you," I breathed, my shoulders sagging with the tension that surrounded us. "I'll see you then," I whispered, walking out of the cafeteria behind her.

My dad chuckled, rolling his eyes at me when I rejoined him, and took in the brunette walking by. "She's pretty."

"She's more than pretty," I said, sounding like a fucking sap, but I didn't care. My eyes followed Bella's progress all the way to the elevator. "And she just started here. Imagine that," I said, laying the groundwork for what I hoped was a future with Bella.

"Think she'll call?" he asked with amusement to his tone. "I saw you slip it to her."

Bella's eyes met mine before the elevator doors closed, but all I could say was, "God, I fucking hope so."

My dad laughed, slapping my shoulder. "Good for you, son."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Edward survived the fugitive recovery details – despite the wishes of some – and did some soul-searching...and drinking. He also just "met" Bella in front of his dad. The ball, as they say, is in Bella's court. And you met the infamous Garrett, the tattoo artist. :) There are a couple of pics for this chapter on my blog and Jenny's site. As always, links are on our profile.**

**I know some of you were pretty upset with Edward last chapter, and he really hasn't had a chance to clear anything up yet. He will be given that chance next chapter. Promise.**

**No new recs for you guys this time. I will tell you that my fic, _Pieces of You,_ will be complete as of tomorrow. You should also check out the short fic that Jenny & I wrote for Beffers87. It was her birthday present, a thank you for all the beautiful manips she's made for us. Go check that out if you haven't already. It's called _Running for Love._ And finally, Jenny wanted to remind you that her hot, sexy, forbidden story, _The Heart Wants,_ is up for Top Ten Completed Fics for July on TwiFanfictionRecs. Since FFn screws up links in chapters, you can find the link on our profile and on Jenny's (JenRar) profile. You can vote once a day! ;)**

**We'll see you again on Wednesday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N #1: No rant today, I promise. And no long author's note, because I promise, you WANT to get to this chapter. Thank you for all the reviews and all the support you guys give us when we have to deal with people who are...not so friendly. ;) See Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 27**

**Bella POV**

I had to fight to blink back tears as Edward once again walked away from me. Anger and hurt and joy were battling in my stomach – anger and hurt that he'd left like he had four days ago and stayed away, and joy that he was safe and wanted to see me.

Despite how upset I was, I'd wanted nothing more than for him to pull me into his arms and kiss me stupid. I knew he couldn't have done anything but walk away there in the middle of the hospital cafeteria, especially with his father watching, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

When I felt sufficiently calm, I took my coffee and left the cafeteria, going directly back to the office.

All afternoon, I had to fight to keep my mind on the job. It kept straying to Edward, what he'd said and done...and what he _hadn't_ said. By the time five o'clock rolled around, I was a big mess of contradictions, and rather than go straight to Edward's, I decided to go home first and change clothes. Alice should have gotten off work an hour earlier, so I wanted to see how her first day had gone and vent some of my frustrations before going to Edward's.

"Have a good evening, Bella," Joyce called from her office as I passed.

I smiled and waved, turning back just in time to see Caroline join me.

"You heading out?" I asked, watching the adorably pregnant woman move out into the hall ahead of me.

She paused and waited for me to step up beside her. "I am," she said, smiling to another woman we passed – Jackie, if I remembered right. "How'd your first day go?"

Shaking my head, I chuckled. "Way too fast, but good. There's a lot of information, but by the end, I think I was getting the hang of it."

Caroline chuckled. "You were, definitely. It took me twice as long to understand Form 2142G, but you figured it out and had it down in an hour. That's impressive," she said as we exited the main office, moving toward the hospital entrance.

The praise felt good, especially considering how nervous I'd been at first. "Thanks." I smiled, feeling the breeze from the automatic doors blow down on my face.

We made small talk as we walked to the hospital's parking garage.

"I'm on level three," I said as we walked into the garage. "You?"

She smiled and pointed down the row of the first level. "One. See you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely," I assured her. "Haven't scared me off yet."

She laughed and waved before turning away, leaving me to make my way to the elevator.

Edward's Audi was still in one piece, no scratches or dings that I could see, thank goodness. I climbed in and started the engine, the napkin with Edward's address on it burning a hole in my pocket.

When I pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, Alice's Bug was already parked in front of Jasper's truck, leaving me the space on the other side. I walked into the house and Alice jumped up from her seat on the couch, hurrying to me.

"How was it? Did you like it?"

Laughing, I said, "It was great. I liked the people a lot, the job was a lot more challenging and interesting than I'd thought it might be, and I'm excited to go back tomorrow. How was yours?"

Alice chattered on about her day, explaining how it had mostly been catching up on administrative stuff, rather than teaching, but how she'd gotten to truly dance for the first time in months, as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

She finally took a breath after saying, "I'm so excited, though, because I teach my first class tomorrow!"

"That's great, sweetie." I smiled and then sighed. "I...I saw Edward at the hospital today. He was there visiting his dad. He wants me to come over, said he has some things to explain. I told him I'd be there at six. Come with me while I change clothes?"

Sobered, she nodded and followed me out of the kitchen.

I waved at Jasper, giving him a small smile as we passed the living room. Once in the bedroom, I dropped my purse on the bed and began to undress.

"How'd you feel when you saw him?" Alice asked quietly as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Shrugging, I admitted, "Relieved, happy. Hurt, angry."

She nodded. "Did he say anything about why he didn't call or whatever?"

I laughed wryly, shaking my head. "No, just that we needed to finish the discussion we started right before he left – not that there _was_ a discussion – and that he wanted to explain."

"Are you mad that he left to go find the guy?"

I finished zipping up and fastening my jeans and then pulled a T-shirt on over my head before answering. "Oddly enough, no, not at all. I get that it's his job and he can't always control when stuff comes up. It sounds like he'd have gotten called in regardless. I'm not even mad that he didn't say it back when I told him I loved him. But he stayed away for days afterward – _days!_ – without one word. If he'd needed more time, I'd have understood. He went from being with me twenty-four-seven to being around his family all day, without a break to just...be home and relax. I get that. All he'd have had to say was that he was taking a couple of days and he'd see me in a couple of days. I get that. Instead, he disappeared, telling no one – not even his partner. What if something had happened to him? Or to us? I just..." I made a sound of frustration and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. "I don't know how to feel," I admitted.

She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and rubbed my upper arm. "I know you don't, sweetie. Hear him out when you go over there, okay? From what you said, it sounds like he's ready to talk about it, and it sounds like he knows he didn't handle it correctly. So give him a chance to explain, but make sure you're okay with it before you forgive him or it'll eat at you. Okay?"

I sighed and nodded, leaning my head against her shoulder and looking over at the clock on the wall. "I need to go. I told him I'd be there at six, and it'll take me a few minutes to get there and find his house."

"Call if you need me, okay? Jasper and I are gonna make tacos for dinner, so we'll be here."

"Thanks. Love you, Pix."

She squeezed my shoulder. "Love you, too. Now go get your man back."

Laughing, I stood and slipped on my sneakers, tying them before grabbing my purse from the bed. Even though I'd memorized his address – I'd only pulled the napkin out and looked at it about a hundred times throughout the afternoon – I still dug it out of my skirt pocket and entered it into the GPS of my phone before leaving the house.

~oOo~

It took me about twenty minutes to find the house. I recognized Edward's motorcycle back in the driveway before I even verified the house number. The house was gorgeous and obviously well cared for. It was two stories, plus an attic – or what looked like a converted attic – at the top, with lots of an angles, a pretty blue color with white trim, and an adorable covered porch that extended over part of the driveway, which was sloped down to the street. There were steps leading from the porch to the walk across the lawn, which turned into steps down the slope to the sidewalk. The yard was lush and green, with several trees and bushes surrounding the house and property, and it just looked beautiful and cozy.

After parking under the covered part of the driveway – I was just going on the assumption that he'd pulled his bike far enough up that I could – I sat there for several minutes, gathering my...courage? Nerves? I wasn't sure what. I knew I just needed a minute to breathe and center myself before taking my next step. Finally, I took a deep breath and climbed out of the car, locking it behind me and making my way to the dark wood front door.

I raised my hand to knock, but it was opened before I got the chance.

He looked...relieved and anxious, and I couldn't help but let my eyes slide over him for a moment. He was just as sexy as he always was, in a black button down with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms and dark-wash but faded jeans, but my eyes fell to the bandage on his hand. I'd been too shocked at the hospital, but he must have had his dad patch up whatever had happened. When my gaze fell on his face again, he took a step forward.

"Bella," Edward sighed. "I wasn't sure you were going to come in."

Smiling, I shook my head. "I just...needed a minute."

He nodded, moving forward and pulling me into his arms. "I'm glad you're here," he sighed, his breath puffing out against the top of my head.

I gave myself a minute to soak in his warmth, his strength, before disentangling myself from him and stepping back. Smiling an almost sad smile, I said, "We need to talk."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

I leaned up against my bike, letting a touch of mist land on my face as I smoked a cigarette. I really needed to fucking quit, but my nerves were a damn mess after just walking out of the hospital, where I'd seen Bella. I couldn't do this shit anymore. I couldn't run and hide from her. I fucking loved her.

My phone buzzed in my jeans pocket, and I pulled it out, bracing myself as I answered it. "Cullen."

"Where the fuck are you?" Jasper growled loudly.

"At the hospital."

That sort of stopped him up short. "Uh, why?"

"My hand got infected, so I came to see my dad. And before you tear into my ass... Yeah, I saw Bella," I told him, taking another long hit on my cigarette.

"Oh."

"Right. Oh." I waited, but he didn't say anything. "I know, Jazz. I fucked up. I've got to set shit straight."

"Well, as long as you know." He chuckled. "Good. I didn't feel like kicking your ass today. You being a hero and all."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Not to Bella. I believe she called me pig-headed."

"You are. It's good she sees it."

"Fuck you. I gotta go. I've got shit to do," I said, straddling my bike.

"What's up?"

"I need to stop and see Emmett. He's been blowing up my phone," I sighed, but I needed to talk to my brother-in-law more than I was willing to admit to Jasper. And I was afraid to voice my fear that Bella could possibly blow me off.

He laughed a little. "Probably wants you to babysit again."

Grinning, I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "Who knows. Later, man."

"Later."

I ended the call, tugged on my USMS jacket to keep the mist from soaking me through, and put my helmet on to head to Emmett's station. Traffic was light, and the weather let up as I made my way across town.

Hooking my marshal's badge through my belt, I let it hang in sight and then pulled on my baseball cap. It was easier to be somewhat in uniform, and I was asked less questions when I wore it into the police station. I waved to the front desk cop, who knew who I was, and he jerked a thumb behind him, indicating that Emmett was there and to go on back.

Emmett's bullpen was a nightmare. It seemed every cop on the force was milling about. There were two boards up with what seemed like a hundred pictures on it. The drug bust must have been a success, because it looked like they were tracking down every dealer in town.

"Ed! Where the fuck have you been, man?" Emmett called from his desk in his office. "I've been calling you for days!"

Walking into his office, I shut his door and sat down in front of his desk. "I know, Em. I had that fugitive recovery that kept me out until Saturday. After that..." I frowned, tilting my head at him. "You got a minute?"

"Barely. That's why I was calling you," he said, sitting back in his chair. "But it can wait. You look like you're about to be sick, so...go."

Nodding, I agreed with him – I was feeling a bit nauseous – but I needed his advice. "I'm...When you...Emmett, when did you know that you were in love with my sister?"

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Is this some late-coming brother speech? Dude, we're married. We have a kid."

"No!" I sighed frustratedly, pulling off my baseball cap and gripping my hair. "I need to know how you do this job and not lose your edge."

"Every step I make, I make sure I do it to be able to get home to my girls." He sat forward, narrowing his eyes on me and resting his elbows on his desk. "Jasper said you volunteered for that fugitive recovery. Did you do that shit to test yourself? Does this have something to do with..."

"Bella," I finished for him, the name escaping me with such reverence that he could have razzed me about it, but he didn't. I looked down at my feet, shuffling them around. "I love her, Em. And I think I fucked up...bad. I just need to know how to fix it _and _still do my job _and_ tell her without—"

"Losing her."

"Yeah," I groaned, locking gazes with him. "I really, _really_ fucked up. She said the words first, 'cause she's smarter and braver than me. Al said she would be."

He grinned, shaking his head. "And let me guess. You ran."

Nodding fervently, I said, "Yeah. Fast. All I wanted was to tell her, but I didn't. I took the detail, admitting that I needed space. I got completely wasted afterward, ended up on Garrett's couch. But while I was there, I realized I didn't need the space."

"Yes, you did," he argued, and I frowned up at him. "Ed, had you not taken a step back, you might have really fucked shit up. Perhaps not right then, but later. Had you not gotten away from her, tested yourself as a cop, then things could've been a lot worse. Maybe you needed to reassess what you were feeling. I'm not saying _how_ you did it was right, but it seemed to have worked. It gave you the kick in the ass you needed to admit how you feel."

When I didn't say anything, he went on. "You've been with this girl for twenty-four-seven for months. You've protected her, guided her, and...you've fallen for her. She's been right there the whole time. Now you're here, _home, _and things will be different. Now shit's _real_. Walking away from her may have been the smartest thing you've done because it seems like you know now that you can't live without her."

I shook my head. "I can't. She's beautiful and brilliant and funny, and she's now working at the same hospital as Dad. I just found that shit out when I was there getting this looked at." I held up my bandaged hand.

"Then what the fuck does she see in you?" He cracked up, shaking his head.

"I don't know," I snorted, but it was an honest answer. But for all of Emmett's silly mannerisms and brash personality, I was really, really grateful to him at the moment because he always had a way of putting things that made sense. He focused on the center of the problem, not the outlying shit that floated around it.

"Did Dad see her?"

"Yeah," I said with a light laugh to my voice. "He saw what he thought was me picking up a girl, but..."

He chuckled again. "Sweet!" he boomed, rubbing his hands together. "Now we're talkin'! I can't wait to meet this girl. She sounds way too good to be true, and she deserves better than your cranky ass."

"I know she does," I stated firmly. "I want to give her that. I _need_ to. She's been through so much."

He smiled. "You will. If you love her, Ed, then you'll figure it all out. It just...hits you, you know?"

There was a light knock on his door, and we both looked up when it cracked open. Emmett's partner, Jared, poked his head in. "Hey, Ed," he said with a smile and a wave, and I shot him a wave back. "Em, I hate to interrupt, but she's waiting for you in interrogation room three. She's getting...antsy."

Emmett pursed his lips, rolling his eyes, and said, "She can damn well wait. She hasn't lawyered up yet, so fuck her." He eyed me for a moment and then glanced up at Jared. "Gimme a sec. Ed might want to see this."

My brow furrowed, but I waited until the door closed before turning back to my brother-in-law, who now looked a little sick.

"Emmett?" I prompted.

He smiled a little, and I noted that it looked sad, but he took a deep breath and nodded to himself. "Maybe it worked out better this way, divine intervention and shit," he muttered softly, standing up and grabbing a file folder in front of him. "I tried calling you – several times. It shocked me, too, but you need to see who's in room three. Come on."

I followed him out of his office and through the bullpen. The interrogation rooms were just down a long corridor. He led me to the observation area of room three, and I came to a standstill, my mouth hanging open.

"Maggie," I whispered, my eyes taking in the sight before me.

"She's...umm...she's in some serious trouble, Edward," Emmett said softly from my side at the two-way mirror.

Sitting handcuffed to the metal table, wearing a county jail jumpsuit, was someone I'd have recognized anywhere, but she'd changed _so fucking much_. And not for the better. Her long, dark, curly hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her face looked older, worn. But it was her hazel eyes that were the biggest difference. They were cold, angry, bitter, and they matched the sneer on her mouth.

"What'd she do?" I asked, unable to look away from her. And it wasn't like I was glad to see her, either. In fact, the mere sight of her made me want run right back to Bella – my sweet, calm, kind, adorable Bella, who was everything the girl chained to the table never could be.

He slapped the file folder labeled "Simon, Maggie" into my chest, which made me flinch due to my fresh ink.

Grabbing it, I tore my gaze away to flip through the folder. Shaking my head slowly, I snorted. "You're serious. She's still pushing...and still with Randy?"

Emmett looked over at me. "We think he's our main guy. We need her to give him up. So far, she's been...difficult. I'm holding her on possession with intent, but I can only hold her for so long."

Gazing back at her, I realized right then that I felt nothing for her. Not nostalgia, not fond memories, and hell, even the hate was gone. It was as if it had never happened. I flipped through her folder again, catching bits and pieces of her life here and there. Jail, probation, DUI, and possession were all on her criminal record, but there was also domestic violence, the removal of a child by Child Protection Services, and...a marriage license.

"She married that bastard," I groaned, shaking my head.

"Yeah. Look when," Emmett said, pointing to the file. My brother-in-law hadn't been around at the time this all went down, but he'd heard enough to recognize the name and dates and most likely had seen pictures. And my sister wasn't exactly Maggie's biggest fan, either.

I read the page in front of me. If what I was seeing was true, they got married after the two of them had done their time for stealing from me. However, the marriage had been dissolved a few years later. They had one child, who was in the care of Maggie's grandmother on the other side of town.

"Well, at least they aren't married anymore. You can still have her testify against him," I snorted, handing back the file.

"You okay?" he asked, looking at me strangely. "I thought you'd want to know. Kinda makes you feel—"

"Nothing. It makes me feel nothing. This was what she chose to do with her life, Emmett," I stated, gesturing at the person in the other room. "I was merely a stepping stone up to this."

He grimaced. "She's a mess. And she's foul. I can't get a thing out of her. This'll be my second interview. I really kinda hate her...for what she did to you, because my wife told me I had to, and because she's so fucking uncooperative."

Laughing, I glanced up at him. "You should send me in there. That ought to knock her off her game a bit."

He eyed my badge, my hat, and my jacket, all of which were USMS issued. "Huh... Boy, wouldn't she shit a brick?"

I laughed again, but it faded quickly. "I don't know, Em. She's always been...that way. I just never saw it. And I'm not sure I can step in that room without asking why."

"Does it matter why she did it?" he asked, leaning against the two-way mirror. "I mean, now? After all this time? Look what _you_ have, Ed."

"I know." I nodded, taking a moment to just watch Maggie.

She was tweaking, craving a hit of some sort, because she was chewing her fingernails down to nubs. I recognized the old habit. Right about now, she'd kill for at least a cigarette. There was no telling what she'd do for more than just nicotine. The thought made me sick.

Deep down, there was a small part of me that felt sorry for her. She'd grown up with shitty parents in a shitty neighborhood, and for that one small moment in college, she'd tried to better herself, but she'd allowed everything to crash down on her. Whereas I had pulled myself up and continued on, she hadn't. Maggie had let everything swallow her whole.

"I can get you Randy's location," I said softly, glancing up at Emmett, who was watching me warily. "Go in, tell her you have someone new that's gonna talk to her."

Emmett grinned evilly, nodded once, and slapped my shoulder. "This shit should be good," he chortled, handing me her file back.

I smirked, watching as he left the observation room and walked into interrogation room three. Reaching over, I turned up the volume on the wall.

"Jesus, McCarty, can't you take a hint? I don't fucking know anything. And you fucked up movie night!" she taunted him, trying to look casual, but her hands were still handcuffed to the table, so it simply made her awkward.

Emmett grinned, shrugging a big shoulder as he tapped the table with his finger. "Personally, I don't think you're worth talkin' to. I think you're shot-out." He twirled a finger by his temple, laughing at her. "But I gotta do what I gotta do, and I think you're holdin' out on me. You don't like me, but let's see if you'll talk to someone else, yeah?"

"Oh, here we go," she sang, rolling her eyes. "Good cop...bad cop." She pointed to Emmett, who laughed outright.

"Baby, I _was_ the _good_ cop," he said with a chuckle as he tapped the two-way mirror. "You shoulda talked to me. I'll give you one last chance to tell me where Randy Tate is hiding."

"Fuck you," she snapped, glaring down at the table and picking at some invisible flaw there.

I stepped out of the observation room and into the hall, where Jared was standing.

He opened the door to the interrogation room, muttering, "Good luck, Cullen," under his breath.

Maggie didn't look up as Emmett and I passed each other in the doorway. In fact, she was stubbornly not looking my way while I shrugged out of my jacket and draped it over the chair opposite her. I slapped her file down onto the tabletop and leaned back against the two-way mirror. And I waited.

There was a time in my life that I thought being in the same room with Maggie again would end in a bloodbath. I'd thought through every scenario known to man – fuck her and leave her, curse her the fuck out, beg for answers as to why me. But as I stood there, all I wanted was to do Emmett a favor and get the information he needed and then haul ass home to wait for my girl. _My girl_. Bella. And my heart swelled at the thought of her. There was nothing on God's green Earth that came close to what I felt for her, and suddenly, I felt free. I felt so free that a small, deep laugh chuckled out of me. Fuck, I almost felt drunk.

"What's so fuckin' funny?" Maggie scoffed, finally giving into curiosity and glancing up.

I smirked, folding my arms across my chest as her eyes raked slowly over my feet, my legs, my badge, my chest, but when she got to my arms, her eyes went wide when she recognized my ink. Immediately, her eyes shot to my face. I wasn't stupid, and I owned a mirror or two. I knew I wasn't the same tall, lanky kid that I'd been at eighteen or nineteen. Training in Georgia alone had added plenty of tone and muscle to my frame. However, I took no satisfaction from watching her take in my physical changes.

But still, I waited.

"Edward," she gasped, her eyes raking over me again.

"No," I tsked, shaking my head. "While you're there, in that seat, it's _U.S. Marshal Cullen_."

Her mouth snapped shut so fast that I heard her teeth click together. Her eyes, though, never left me as I walked to the table, flipped open her file, and tapped the top sheet.

"This is quite the rap sheet you've built for yourself, Maggie," I told her, shaking my head in admonishment, and she had the wherewithal to look ashamed.

As she chewed her nails again, I flipped slowly through the file, though I really didn't need to. This was a head game with us. It had always been that way. So it didn't surprise me when she switched gears on me as I walked slowly around her.

"You look good, baby," she purred, looking at me from beneath her lashes. "Powerful."

I leaned next to her at the table, crossing one ankle over the other. "It's Cullen, Maggie. Or U.S. Marshal Cullen – or even just marshal. But you'll address a federal officer with respect. Got me?"

"Come on, Edward," she crooned, shifting enough that she could reach out and touch my leg next to her. "Don't be like that. We used to be good. I'm still really good."

I snorted. "You're far from _good_, Mags." As her finger slipped up my thigh, I stood up and moved away from her gracefully, falling down in the chair across the table. Tugging her file closer, I sang, "Let's catch up, shall we? You know, for old times' sake."

"Don't," she said, but I flipped and flipped pages. "Please don't, Edward," she sniffled, giving me her absolute fucking best begging face.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and I saw how good of an actress she was. I wanted to bash my own skull in for all the times I'd fallen for that shit _right there._

"Cut the fucking shit, Mags!" I snapped, slamming my hand down onto the table and making her jump. "That ain't gonna fly around me anymore. I used to buy into it, but no more."

Her tears instantly cleared up as she gaped at me, but she stayed quiet. Once she'd slumped a little in her chair, I went back to her file.

"Ah, let's see. Besides, you know, grand larceny, what have we got here?" I posed lightly. I called out a few of her old charges, some old arrests, finally falling on the picture of her daughter. I pulled out the photo of a chubby-cheeked little girl around the age of three or so. She had her mother's dark, curly hair, but her father's bright blue eyes; she was obviously Randy's daughter, as well. "Congratulations. What's her name?"

"Abigail Marie," she whispered, her eyes not leaving the picture.

The middle name made me smile, made me think of first meeting Bella. "Good name." I sniffed, noting that I had my "in" with her right in front of me. "Shame you won't see her for a very long time. Or do you give a shit?"

Her eyes snapped to my face, her expression going from sad to fiery in a flash. "Of course I give a shit!"

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Just sayin'," I taunted. "I mean, you don't have custody, and you can't see her without supervision. Plus, it doesn't look like you're trying very hard to get her back. Drugs have aged you, Mags. You should cut that shit out. How _is _Grammy, by the way?"

The one thing I knew about Maggie's family was that her grandmother was the only one that gave two shits about Maggie, about family. She was a sweet old woman, and it wasn't a surprise to me that she had taken in Abigail.

"She _loved_ me. Said I was good for you. She was always pretty blind. Little did she know you were beyond redemption," I boasted, kicking back in my chair and propping my feet up on the table. I grinned at Maggie. "She still have that fuck-awesome hidden basement?"

There it was. Maggie's eyes widened imperceptibly, but she recovered quickly.

"Does _Daddy_ go visit Miss Abigail often? Oh, I bet he does," I sang. "Randy was always about family. Beat the shit out of his step-dad for hitting his mother, right? And I bet he sneaks in through that hidden basement." I laughed lightly, shaking my head. "And knowing Grammy, she lets him in..._for the baby_." I held a finger up, my feet falling softly back to the floor. "Or he's threatening her. Maybe he's paying her off with all this bank he's makin', hmm?"

Maggie snapped, lunging at me without thinking, and her cuffs snapped her back into her chair. "You stupid son of a bitch!" she yelled, and I merely smiled, closing her file. "You sent us to prison before, and now you're gonna do it again!"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "You put yourself in prison, Maggie. You stole ten thousand dollars."

"Always about the money," she sneered. "You flaunted it around us like an asshole."

My hands came slamming down on the table and I loomed over her. "It was _never_ about the fucking money!" I growled, glaring at her, and she shrank back. "I simply tried to help you, and you shit on it!"

The door opened to the interrogation room, and Emmett stepped in, looking a combination of proud and worried.

I pointed toward him, my eyes not leaving Maggie's. "Do yourself a fucking favor. Do the right thing." I pushed Abigail's picture closer to her. "Do it for _her_. Tell him when Randy visits his daughter and how. Because if _I_ do it, then there will be no leniency on you. They may take pity if _you_ do it. Otherwise, you're goin' away for quite a while. You're lookin' at...what?" I glanced up at Emmett. "Six months? A year?" I asked, and when he nodded, I turned back to her. "Fuck. By then, Abigail will have forgotten what you look like."

Maggie's nostrils flared, and real tears welled up in her eyes. She glared me down for another moment or two, finally taking a deep breath. "Randy goes on Monday and Wednesday nights...when Grammy leaves Abigail with the neighbor. He parks two streets over and sneaks in through the backyard. He's fucking the babysitter." Her voice sounded bitter.

I looked over at Emmett, who looked like he needed more, but like he'd take what he could get.

"And?" I asked, picking up the file, but leaving the picture.

"And he's storing everything down there. Grammy doesn't know because she can't handle the stairs. Her hips won't let her," she finished without any emotion to her tone. She locked gazes with me. "You just signed my death warrant."

"No, I didn't," I told her, pushing away from the table and snatching up my jacket. "You're smarter than Randy. You always were."

"Edward, I'm sorry!" she called out as we started to leave the room. "He made me do it! He threatened me!"

I believed Randy had threatened her, and I nodded, turning to look at her, but I knew she was also partly lying to me, because Randy sure as hell hadn't been holding a gun to her head the night I found them on his bed in our dorm room. "I didn't come in here for an apology, Maggie. I came to help my brother-in-law."

That shut her up as her eyes took in Emmett slapping my shoulder.

"So, see you at Mom and Dad's for Sunday lunch?" he chirped without shame, giving his best dimpled grin.

Smiling back and handing him Maggie's file, I said, "We'll see. I've got to fix something _important_ first." When he smiled and nodded, I chuckled at him. "Wish me luck. And it's your turn to bring the beer."

Laughing, he shot me a wink and a wave. I didn't look back when I left. I needed to get home and get ready for Bella.

~oOo~

Bella was late. I poked my head into the oven to check dinner, but my eyes never strayed far from the fucking clock. My panic had started to kick in when five o'clock rolled around and I realized Bella would be off work. Since I'd come home from the police station, I'd cleaned, showered, cleaned again, until finally, I'd just called my mother for some idea of what to cook. I didn't want delivery or takeout, but I was tired of making the same old shit.

The thick, heady smell of chicken marsala filled my nose, but I slammed the oven door back closed.

"Fuck, she's not coming," I muttered, feeling something akin to shards of glass fill my chest, until I heard my own car's engine in the driveway.

Through the front window, I watched as she pulled all the way into the drive and under the carport behind my bike. The engine shut off, but she sat there for what seemed like forever.

"Come on, baby. Please, _please_ let me fix this..." I whispered to her or God or any deity that would listen.

My forehead thumped to the kitchen archway, and my eyes slid closed until I heard footsteps on my front porch. Before she could knock, I tugged open my door.

"Bella," I sighed in relief, staring at worried, hurt, and just plain beautiful. "I wasn't sure you were going to come in."

Her smile was quick and easy. "I just...needed a minute."

I stepped forward, expecting to be slapped, but I needed to touch her. I needed the calm she didn't even know she brought with her. She let me pulled her close.

"I'm glad you're here," I said against her hair, inhaling the scent I'd come to love, though there was a hint of the hospital smell that I'd grown used to from my dad.

She stiffened in my arms, pulling away. I frowned when she said simply, "We need to talk."

It hurt like hell to let her go, but I did it, stepping back so she could come in. "I know," I conceded. "Come on in."

Seeing Bella in my living room was surreal. I never invited women to my house. Ever. But she not only seemed to be taking everything in, but she looked so fucking good standing there. I tried to see what she saw – masculine colors, flatscreen TV, my glass bar, all of which my mother had designed for me when I'd bought the house. I was sure it came off as a bachelor pad, but it wasn't. Mom had merely decorated according to my personality.

"Your house is beautiful, Edward," Bella said softly, eyeing the glass shelves of my bar, which had both alcohol and a few photographs of family and friends.

"Thanks," I said, waving a hand. "My mom did it all. I hardly had a choice in the matter. Maybe the TV." I smiled when Bella snickered softly. "Want a drink? I gotta check dinner."

"Edward..." She sighed, shaking her head. "I told you that dinner was—"

"Tentative. I know," I finished for her, walking to the kitchen, but I could hear her follow me. "But I'm starving, B. I haven't eaten much today, okay? It's been a really fucking weird, long day. I'll tell you about it after we've talked." I cracked open the fridge. "So, beer, wine, water..."

"Beer's fine."

I grabbed two bottles from the bottom shelf, cracking hers open and then my own. I tapped the neck of her bottle with my own, not bothering to toast anything, lest I jinx this whole fucking thing.

"Will you tell me everything?" she asked after taking a draw on her beer. She slid onto the stool at my counter, her eyes on me as I checked dinner and shut the oven again.

Nodding, I walked around to her, offering her my hand. "I'll tell you anything you want to know," I vowed, and she took my hand. I led her to the living room, and she took the far corner of my sofa. She was avoiding my touch, but instead of letting her scoot away, I tugged my ottoman over and sat down in front of her. "Anything, beautiful. Ask me."

She looked away from me, her face filling with that steel determination I'd recognize anywhere. Sniffing once, she shook her head. "I want to know why you left me with barely an explanation – nothing more than it was your job – and then stayed away without any notice that you were okay after you got back into town. I want to know why you didn't call at least once after you dropped off that bad guy you were chasing. You could've told me you needed space. Something. _Anything!_ You didn't even call Jasper!"

She was on a roll. She was fire and hurt, and I let her just get it all out, because when I finally spoke, I wasn't going to stop with just explanations of my actions and whereabouts.

She locked those liquid brown eyes on me. "Is having me here," she started, pointing to the floor, "making you uncomfortable? Am I invading your life, Edward? Your family, your job, your friends are all here, and I'm not a part of any of it. Is it bugging you? 'Cause I'll—"

I leaned forward and cupped her face. "I want nothing more than you, right here. Nothing. I've fucking gone crazy trying to figure out how to wait for you to join this place, my family, my friends. Got me?" I said, probably sounding pissed off, but she needed to know. "Now... There's that question answered. Let's go back to the top."

I slipped forward, bringing her knees between my legs so that we were face to face. "I left you without a good explanation because I'm a coward and an idiot, Bella. I left because at that moment, I couldn't give you what you wanted." She looked away from me again, hurt on her face and in her eyes, but I brushed her hair from her forehead. "You said the most amazing thing to me, but I couldn't handle it, sweetheart. Not right then. Believe me, I hear you say it over and over in my head, and I... It's like music, but..."

I sighed in frustration because this shit wasn't coming out right. I patted her leg to make her look at me. "Do you remember when I told you that outside my job, my life at home was utter fuckery? Do you remember?" I asked her, and she nodded. "You didn't believe me, but it's the fucking truth, B. Now do you get it? But I never, _ever_ wanted to screw this up," I said, gesturing between us. "I couldn't hear those beautiful words from you, knowing what I was about to walk out and do. And I didn't want to say something back just because someone else said it or because there was a possibility I wouldn't return to you."

"I don't care that you didn't say it back, Edward," she countered, though I could see that it killed her to say that. "But you could've texted, called..._something_. Jasper was back by Friday afternoon."

"Jasper wasn't in Hoquiam, Bella. That's about two hours southwest from here. He was right here in Seattle." I gripped my hair. "Jasper also wasn't lead on that recovery. Al made me lead, which meant I had to wait out everything. I had to wait until he showed up, the area was processed, and the fugitive was medically attended to, and then finally drive back to Seattle with his nasty ass in order to put him back in jail. I didn't get here until really late Friday night, baby. And I was fucking exhausted. I hadn't slept since Wednesday night..._with you_. And if you'll remember, there wasn't a lot of sleepin' goin' on."

She smirked when I raised an eyebrow at her.

"So I slept most of Saturday away. And yeah, I should've called, I should've texted, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you I just needed space. And it wasn't really space that I wanted. I wanted you, but by then, I figured I'd fucked up, so I kinda got a little drunk and wallowed in my own misery. See? Fuckery."

"Did you get drunk here?" she asked, looking like she was bracing herself for the answer.

"No." I sighed, sitting back and shaking my head. "No, I went to a bar I used to hang out in, and Mr. Daniels and I got reacquainted. An old friend took pity on me and made sure I didn't ride my bike while that trashed."

"Who?" she whispered, looking away with tears welling up.

"Hey," I said, making her look at me. "I would _never_ do that to you, baby. Never. It was Garrett, okay?"

"Your tattoo friend?" she asked, looking relieved.

"Yes," I answered, watching her warily. "Do you think I'd cheat? 'Cause that would never happen. I only want you. Tell me, despite all this bullshit, that you know at least that much."

"No! No, of course not," she gushed, shaking her head. "I just..."

"You've been fucked over before, so you think..." I didn't even bother to finish that because we both knew it was true.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't apologize to me, B," I sighed, getting up and starting to pace in front of her. "So I woke up on a lumpy-ass couch, missing the shit out of you and thinking I really needed to pull my head out of my ass. Garrett cleaned me up and fed me. We talked about you – as much as I could about you."

"But still you didn't call me or anything. I wouldn't have seen you had we not run into each other at the hospital."

"See, that's where you're wrong, beautiful. I'm sorry," I told her, coming to a stop in front of her. "I woke up Sunday feeling different – hungover as all hell, but different. I don't know if it was the drinking or...or the time away from you, or doing a different detail or what. I honestly don't know. But there was something I had to do before I saw you again, Bella. I _needed_ to do it. Unfortunately, it kept me away longer than I expected."

Bella's beautiful face morphed into an adorable expression filled with curiosity as she gazed up at me.

I sat back down on the ottoman in front of her, picking up her hands. I kissed her fingers, trying to figure out how to say this next part. It was so fucking important. I took a minute to revel in her touch, but she turned the tables on me with small tentative touches to my bandaged hand.

"I'm okay, sweetheart. Infected, but okay," I told her, smiling when she nodded with a relieved expression. "That's why I was seeing my dad. I woke up swollen and hurting, but I was coming to you afterward. I swear it."

"Why not Sunday?" she asked. "What kept you?"

I inhaled deeply, running my nose across her palm and placing a kiss in the center. The fact that she hadn't pushed me away or stopped me from touching her made me stupidly happy.

"Garrett," I answered, locking gazes with her but letting go of her hands. "Apparently, I'm a sappy drunk. I woke up around one or two Sunday afternoon, not remembering shit about the night before, and Garrett said all I'd done was talk about this beautiful brunette with brown eyes that told me she loved me." I smiled, shaking my head at her sweet blush. "I'd told him your first name, but I wouldn't tell him anything else – not where you came from, nor your last name, not even how I met you. He also said I begged him to ink me."

Her eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, Edward, please tell me you didn't get something stupid done while drunk," she groaned, shaking her head at me, but she was eyeing me everywhere trying to find it.

Laughing, I shook my head. "Garrett won't ink someone when they're that wasted. He did, however, show me what I'd asked for when I woke up. When he showed me the design, I knew I had to have it. And it took several hours to get it done. It was... It represented you so much – what you've done to me. _For me_. It was as if you'd been there and picked the damn thing out, Bella."

I sat back and started unbuttoning my shirt before I could chicken the fuck out. The very second black ink came into view, Bella sat forward, gently shifting my shirt back just a little off my shoulder. Her eyes raked over the new tattoo. New ink, tender skin, and the aftercare ointment made it look like a neon sign. As pale as my skin was normally, the Batman symbol really did look like the light in the sky.

"Edward..."

"Wait," I whispered, almost drunk on how close she was to me. "I think you know I identify with Bruce Wayne, due to my birth father's death. Batman felt locked into his life, like he had no choice but to keep the people he cared about safe, yet at arm's length. He considered it a burden and a duty to do what he did."

I swallowed thickly, glancing down at the tattoo. The Batman symbol started over my heart – exactly where Bella had told me I should put it weeks and weeks ago – but about halfway through it, the solidity of it burst into what looked like a hundred bats that spread out over most of my left pec, all the way up to my shoulder.

"When I met you, I just was doing my duty, my job, but...you're so much more, Bella," I started, waiting until her eyes broke away from the tattoo to meet my gaze. "I couldn't stay away from you, though. And at the time, I didn't know why. It's been so long since I've cared about anyone outside my family. I kept everyone at arm's length, but not you. You sneaked in and wrapped yourself up inside me, and I can't take a breath without thinking about you." After clearing my throat nervously, I went on. "I've been hurt before, and...I... After meeting you, really getting to know you, I realized that she has no power here anymore. You do. You could shatter me, but I think I've been in love with you before we ever left the east coast. And knowing that," I whispered, tapping my new ink, but my eyes didn't leave hers, which were now filling with tears, "I feel...set free."

I grasped either side of her face and brushed my lips over hers. "I love you. And I'm sorry I didn't call or text you. I needed to step back for just a moment, baby. The _way_ I did it was wrong, but I was scared. It's no excuse, I know. But it's the truth. I needed to step back from our situation, I needed to test myself that I could still do my job and love you at the same time, and I needed a swift kick in the ass to realize that every second I'm apart from you, you're all I think about." I kissed her lips again, tasting salty tears. "Please don't cry, baby," I begged her softly. "I also had to come to terms with who _you_ are. Your situation. And I decided I didn't give a flying fuck. If we had to move you today, I'd go. I'd follow you anywhere – whether you're Marie Brandon, Bella Swan, or...or Bertha Moskowitz."

Bella burst into a giggle, and it was accompanied by an adorable sniffle. But she pulled back to look at the ink on my chest again.

"You... You got this for me?" she asked, reaching out to touch. "It's beautiful."

"Careful, it's still sore," I whispered, but guided her finger to trace the edges of black ink. "And yes, I needed something new, something good. I wanted to show you that what I feel for you is permanent. And that I've never loved _anyone_ as much as I love you."

She was in my lap and wrapped around me before I could take the next breath. But it was the relief at the feel of her lips on mine that had me moaning shamelessly and gripping her anywhere I could get my hands – her shirt, her ass, her waist, her hair. I wanted to be everywhere at once with her. While she was careful when she rid me of my shirt completely and touched lightly in order to not hurt my chest, I wasn't so gentle. Yanking her closer, I practically growled when her center ground down onto my suddenly very hard dick. He was so fucking happy she was that close that he twitched hard against the zipper of my jeans. My tongue slid languidly into her mouth, swirling with hers and savoring every second. But when I broke away, I trailed my lips down her neck, whispering my apologies, swearing I'd never do it again, and I couldn't stop saying the words, until she said them again.

"I love you, too, Edward."

I pulled back, bringing her forehead to mine. "Fuck me, and I thought the first time you said it was awesome," I muttered, smiling when she grinned again.

"Edward?" she asked, and I hummed, opening my eyes to see her worried gaze. "You swore to me you'd never stay away, and you broke it."

I opened my mouth to apologize profusely. I was prepared to beg, plead, cajole...charm, even. But her fingers landed against my lips.

"Don't do it again," she said firmly with a shake of her head.

"I won't. I swear. I'll text and call you so much, you'll think I'm stalking you," I told her, kind of teasing, but not really.

Grinning, she leaned in to kiss me again, but we both jumped when the timer for my oven went off. She cracked up when I stood up, keeping her wrapped around me, and I stalked into the kitchen, plopping her sweet ass onto my counter.

"Don't move, but I really need to eat. Will you stay?" I asked her, regretfully letting her go, but I needed to start the pasta.

"It smells amazing," she whispered, eyeing the pan when I took out the bubbling marsala. "Yeah, I'll stay."

As the pasta cooked, I stepped back between her legs, unable to keep from touching her, kissing her.

"What happened?" she asked, tilting her head at me. "You said today was weird and long."

I snorted, shaking my head and stepping out of her arms to pull out the strainer for my noodles. I set it in the sink, grabbed the boiling pot of water.

"After I saw you at the hospital – congrats again, by the way," I said with a wink and a grin, which made her smile but bite down on that bottom lip. "I went to see my brother-in-law, Emmett. He's a detective for the Seattle PD. He knows about you, and he's trustworthy. Our jobs are similar in the secret and dangerous side of things. I just...I needed to talk to someone who would understand having someone back home while we were out doing our jobs."

"Why not Jazz?"

I sniffed, glancing up at her as I rinsed the pasta in cold water. "Jasper...he's just as new at this as I am. And he's too close to the matter. I needed someone that had been through it – was still going through it."

"What did he say?" she asked, leaning to the side when I needed to get into the cabinet by her head.

I chuckled. "I told him how I felt about you and that I was pretty sure I'd fucked up completely. But he told me that if I loved you, things would fall into place. He said he made sure that everything he did at work was careful so he could get home to Rose and Emma."

I plated two full servings, handing her one once she'd slipped down to the floor. We sat down at my kitchen table, taking a few bites.

"This is good," she gushed. "Where was this while we were gone?"

Chuckling, I shrugged. "I called Mom. She emailed me this recipe."

She took another few bites. "No offense, Edward, but that chat with your brother-in-law doesn't sound so weird. What aren't you telling me?"

"No, the chat was fine. It was what happened after we talked that was strange," I told her, taking a long sip on my beer. "See, he's a narcotics detective, and he's been working on this case. He tried to call me this weekend, but..." I raised an eyebrow at her in order to not rehash my absence. "His partner interrupted us to tell us his suspect – or _person of interest_ – was in an interrogation room. Emmett had tried to get a hold of me to let me know who that was. And I ended up helping him get his information."

Bella had frozen, her fork halfway up to her mouth, but she waited. "Who?"

"Maggie."

She set her fork down. "What?"

I nodded, grimacing at the thought of Maggie – how she'd been, how she'd reacted, how nothing about her had changed. "She's...a complete mess. She married Randy – and then divorced him – they have a kid she's not really allowed to see, and apparently, she's involved in some big drug ring with him. Emmett needed to find Randy, so I interrogated her."

"How'd it go?" she whispered, looking down at her plate and pushing her food around.

"I scared the shit out of her just by walking in the door. And she tried that same old shit – the crying, begging, flirting shit. And I saw right through it," I chortled humorlessly. "When she finally gave up Randy's whereabouts, I walked out." I shrugged a shoulder. "She apologized, but I didn't care. All I knew was that Emmett got his information, and I wanted to get back here, for you."

"W-Wait. She apologized, and you just...left?" She gaped at me, and I shrugged again and then nodded. "And this was today? After...After that?!" she gasped, pointing to my new tattoo.

"Yeah, why?" I wasn't sure if she was pissed at me or not. "Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean... Seeing her was...nothing. I think I let all that shit go when I met you."

Bella was up and out of her chair, and I flinched like she was going to smack the shit out of me or something. Instead, her hands slipped into my hair, and she pulled my mouth to hers. She kissed me with such fervor, with such a possessive feel, that I couldn't help but pull her into my lap again.

"Christ, Bella," I panted when she finally pulled away. "What was that?"

"That was for being ignorantly sexy," she breathed, kissing me again. "And you'd better hurry up and eat, Edward."

Grinning, I chuckled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Good," I grunted, standing up with her in my arms again. "Tell me you're okay with microwaving that shit later."

She laughed, her head falling back as I toted her up the stairs to my bedroom. "Yeah. Really, really okay."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Edward did a LOT of growing up in the last chapter. And this, by far, was the hardest chapter for me to write. Men make really big dumb mistakes. If you don't believe me, let me introduce you to my hubs, 'cause he's brilliant at it, and _I still love him,_ but that's the key. Where women wallow in emotion, most men need a second to let their brains and hearts catch up – and yeah, alcohol sometimes comes with all of that. But usually, as is the case with my hubs, when they finally figure it all out, what comes next is damn good. I laughed at some of your reviews – some more than others, obviously – but your ideal man...he doesn't exist. A "perfect guy" would be boring, and he's a myth. There also isn't anything close to "the perfect relationship." You simply have to find the right type of crazy/weird/strange that fits you and somehow try to make a go of it.**

**Maggie. Oh, Maggie. I'm actually going to tell you how that interrogation came into play. We weren't going to bring her into the fic at all, but I blame Goober, because she said, "Fuck, how awesome would it be if she got into trouble, and it was EDWARD that had to question her?! Talk about closure!" LOL But I didn't want her as "closure," really. I wanted her as more of an affirmation of what he'd already come to feel for Bella. I wanted it to be a moment for Edward without the rose-colored glasses he wore when he thought of his past. Maggie was simply a criminal that had used him, and he did nothing wrong to deserve that treatment.**

**Emmett, on the other hand, was my favorite part of this chapter. Hands down. And if you're missing Uncle Al, he'll be back. Just hang in there. ;) There's still more talking, healing, and eventually, they'll eat LOL, but Bella's POV is better. Jenny did an amazing job on the next part.**

**Check out my blog & Jenny's site for pictures for this chapter! Mimi Holmes made us a manip that made us absolutely SWOON!**

**No fic recs just yet. I should have a couple for you by Sunday. I'm reading one now, but I'd like to finish it before I rec it. :)**

**Okay, we'll see you Sunday for the next chapter. Until then… Mooches, Deb. :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N #1: Thank you guys for your reviews. It's really funny how the last few chapters have brought out such differing opinions! We just have to LOL at the fact that we simply can't please everyone. ;) One thing we can probably all agree on, though: _Breaking Dawn_ Pt 2 was amazing. I watched it again last night, and I laughed and cried again and again. What gets me most is when the music starts up at the end when E/B are in the meadow and I know she's getting ready to show him her memories. It just makes me sob and miss the series that much more. It may be time for a re-read of the books. Or maybe I'll pick Deb's Angel series. ;) I like that one, too. *laugh***

**Note regarding Edward's car... There are several parking lots for employees, so don't assume that Carlisle will see Bella in Edward's car. ;) And yes, she will be getting her own later.**

**Now, read, enjoy, & see Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 28**

**Bella POV**

I laughed as Edward rushed me up the stairs, his hands on my ass holding me tight against him. My legs were wrapped around his waist, my arms were around his neck, and I buried my giggles into his skin as I held on tight.

"Christ, Bella," he panted, nearly tripping on a step when I opened my mouth and sucked in the skin just below his ear. "Baby, wait."

"Mm, I don't wanna." I blew softly across the damp skin, and his hands tightened on my ass in reaction.

"Fuck," he growled, finally turning into what I assumed was his bedroom.

When his hands loosened their hold on me, I unwrapped my legs and slowly slid down until my feet were on the floor.

Trailing a single finger down his chest, I stopped at the waist of his jeans, dipping my fingertip inside. "As hot as you look right now," I purred, making a show of looking him over from head to toe, "I'd much rather these came off...now."

I popped the button with one hand, moving to lower the zipper, but Edward stopped me with a hand over mine.

"Wait, beautiful." When I looked up at him, he reached down and cupped my face. "Baby, what'd you mean about me being ignorantly sexy?"

Shaking my head, I leaned in and kissed his chest, my fingers still working the button of his jeans, even as his hand was trying to stop me. "We can talk later," I murmured against his skin before placing an open-mouthed kiss to his chest, near his new tattoo.

Edward groaned and pulled me away, trapping my arms to my sides as he looked down at me, his eyes a deep, dark color. "Talk to me, Bella, please. I want this as much as you do, trust me, but I..." He huffed, shaking his head.

The pleading look finally cut through the haze of desire that had clouded my head. Realizing he needed to hear what I'd been thinking, I nodded and moved back to sit down on the edge of the bed, crooking my finger to get him to follow. I kicked my sneakers and socks off and then turned to face him as he sat down beside me, angling his body so we were face to face.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "You deserved that apology from her, Edward. She owed you that. You know that, right?"

He shrugged, his brow furrowing. "I guess, but it wasn't my priority at the moment. I was helping Emmett, but I needed to fix this," he answered with a gesture between us. "She was just...there." Again, he shrugged it off.

"And I'd be willing to bet Emmett was calling you because he thought you needed to see her, see what she'd become, for closure," I told him, focusing on the dark ink that now covered the space over his heart.

"Emmett's not that complex," he said with a chuckle. "He was probably thinking I'd wanna see Karma kicking her ass. And it was." He grasped my chin, forcing my gaze to his. "Bella, I didn't need closure."

I took a deep, shuddering breath at the raw honesty in his voice. "I know," I whispered, nodding a little and wanting so badly to touch the new ink, _my_ ink. "You'd already let her go. You'd marked yourself permanently – for me – before seeing her again after all this time. You'd been so angry at her, hated her. Your hatred was as deeply a part of you as the ink you put on your back. You'd carried her around like a burden for years, but suddenly, it was just...gone. How'd you put it? You felt nothing."

"Because what I felt for her back then? Bella, it doesn't even scratch the surface of what I feel for you, what I've probably felt since I met you," he stated urgently, like he was still trying to convince me. "Baby, I don't want her apology. She's messed up, and she's always been that way. All I want is you."

I smiled and kissed his lips. "And that's what makes you ignorantly sexy, Edward."

He still looked slightly mystified, which made me giggle.

"You love me," I told him simply, feeling my heart squeeze in my chest at the words.

All confusion left him, replaced with a calm assurance and fierce look of love. "I do," he said. "I'm sorry it took me so lon—"

I interrupted with a shake of my head. "No more apologies, Edward." I pulled my T-shirt off, leaving me in my jeans and lacy pink bra. "Just show me."

His chest rumbled as I reached back and unclasped the bra, tugged it down, and dropped it off the side of the bed. When my fingers moved to the button of my jeans, he shook his head and reached out to stop me.

Before I could beg or whine or question why, he brushed my hands away and popped the button himself. "I wanna do that. Lie back, baby," he ordered, using one hand to gently push at my shoulder.

A feeling of anticipation coursed through me as I scooted back on the bed, reclining on my elbows behind me so I could watch him. The rasp of the zipper was loud in the otherwise quiet room, heightening the already-delicious tension. When his fingers hooked into the sides of my jeans, I lifted my hips so he could draw them down to my thighs and off past my feet, dropping them to the floor somewhere as he kept his gaze trained to the damp triangle of fabric at the apex of my thighs.

"I can see how wet you are," he murmured, reaching out and tracing a line up the middle of my cloth-covered center until his finger rested oh-so-close to where I wanted his touch. "Is this all for me?"

I nodded, whimpering as he tapped his finger, feeling it directly on my clit, even through the cotton.

"Pretty in pink," he said in a teasing lilt, "but I know something else that's pretty and pink." Then he hooked his fingers on the sides and drew the panties swiftly down and off, his gaze never once leaving me as his hands moved to my thighs to keep my legs still, as if he was worried I would close myself off from his view.

I had no desire to hide myself from him. He made me feel beautiful and sexy, and I wanted nothing more than for him to see me, to touch me.

"Edward, please," I begged when he didn't move.

"Oh, beautiful," he sang softly. "I've told you before. You never have to beg."

When he slid a long finger through my damp curls, tapping my clit, a shudder wracked my frame.

"Look at this pretty pink pussy, so wet for me. I wanna taste you, Bella."

I nodded almost frantically, unable to draw enough breath to speak.

Edward situated himself between my thighs and dipped his head, and I jolted when I felt his tongue trace a line from the bottom of my slit to the top, circling around my clit. "Mm, perfect." He gave a lip-smacking grin as he looked up me, all heat and fire and wickedness in his eyes.

He leaned back down and continued to lick and suck at me, drawing my lower lips into his mouth and nibbling gently, teasing the tender skin. His tongue slid between my folds, tracing my entrance before dipping inside. Edward moaned, and I felt it throughout my body, my insides clenching as the vibrations hit my clit.

My breaths came out stuttered as he slid two fingers inside me and dipped his head again. I gasped, reaching down to grip his hair as he curled his fingers, stroking them slowly as he wrapped his lips around my aching clit, using his tongue to tease and taste me. When he sped up the movement of his fingers inside me and gently scraped his teeth over my clit, the coil that had been stretching tighter and tighter inside me finally snapped, and I cried out as I came, squeezing his fingers and making him growl as he pressed one last kiss to my now very sensitive clit.

Before I could fully come down from my orgasm, Edward was up and off the bed, shedding his jeans and underwear in one smooth movement, and then he was back over me, dipping his head for a kiss as he settled between my thighs. I could taste myself on his lips, and while it wasn't something I particularly liked the taste of, knowing it was there because he'd licked and sucked and fingered me until I came made it incredibly fucking sexy.

I didn't miss the flinch he gave when he pulled away and positioned himself at my entrance, and I knew his new ink was bothering him.

"Wait," I said before he could move.

He froze, raising an eyebrow. "Bella?"

Grinning, I motioned for him to move. When he pulled away, I sat up, pushing gently as his un-inked shoulder. "Lie back."

He must've realized my intention, because his eyes darkened further and he nodded, quickly lying back on the bed against the pillows. Then he held out a hand, and I took it, using my free hand to guide him inside me.

Fuck, there was nothing more sexy than watching Edward from this position. Every time I moved my hips, his long eyelashes fluttered, like he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. When I purposely clenched around him, he groaned. And when I reached behind me and stroked him, teasing his balls, he hissed a curse through gritted teeth and bucked his hips.

Leaning forward again, I braced my hands on his stomach, well below the fresh ink, and began to ride him harder. I wanted so badly for him to come, to see and feel him as he fell apart. When he began thrusting up to meet my hips and his fingers tightened on my ass as he helped move me above him, I knew he was close. I squeezed my inner muscles around him, and that was all it took. With a gasping cry of my name, he spilled himself inside me, his thrusts faltering before he pulled me down to claim my lips in a searing kiss through our heavy breaths.

"Christ," he muttered as I carefully lifted off him to then curl against his right side. He chuckled before saying, "Five days is too fucking long, I swear."

I laughed against his chest as he held me close.

Several minutes later, while we were still trying to catch our breath, my stomach let out a rumbling growl.

Edward chuckled. "When's the last time you fed that monster, baby?"

Shrugging, I said, "I had some toast this morning."

Edward pulled himself up to an elbow to look down at me. "Is that it? The only thing you've eaten all day?"

I nodded, frowning. "I was too nervous this morning to eat much, and I...wasn't hungry at lunch."

Some emotion flashed through his eyes, too quick for me to register, before all I saw was determination. "Come on, then, woman," he said, his hand tickling my side. "Dinner's all ready to reheat. You need to eat now so you'll have energy for later."

When I looked at him curiously, he waggled his eyebrows playfully, making me laugh as I climbed off the bed.

~oOo~

I plucked a mushroom from the plate and popped it into my mouth, humming at how good it was. "You can tell your mom it was a success," I said after I swallowed. "This is really yummy."

Edward looked proud as he twirled a piece of pasta around on his fork and took a bite, humming his agreement.

As dinner had reheated in the microwave, I'd told him more about my first day of work, about how different it was, but how I thought I'd enjoy it. He'd been full of questions about the people and what the job actually entailed, and he'd listened with rapt attention as I'd told him everything, including how I'd actually run into his dad on the way into work.

Now I was debating if I wanted to ask more about the days he'd spent away from me – whether I wanted to ask about the fugitive chase or Maggie, I wasn't sure. Finally, I decided on the safe option.

"Where'd you finally find the guy you were chasing? Jasper really didn't talk much with me about it – or...I guess _I_ didn't really talk to _him_ much about it," I said with a shrug.

Edward snorted, picking up his glass of wine and taking a sip before answering. "The dumbass went back to his old cabin." He shook his head as I laughed. "I'm not sure who's more stupid, though. Him for thinking he'd be safe, or me for not thinking of it sooner – and it wasn't even me that thought of it."

I shrugged. "You got him, though. That's the important thing, right?"

"Yeah, but not before he had a chance to grab the girl." He scowled. "The bastard got off easy with a bullet to the leg."

"Hey," I said, reaching over to place my hand on his. "You got him before he had a chance to do more than scare her. She's fine, remember?" I'd asked Jasper at least that much after he got to the house on Friday, so I knew she was. "You talked him down long enough to get the drop on him, and you're the one that insured her safety. Don't forget that part."

He was quiet for a minute, and I started to think that bringing up the subject of the capture was a bad idea, but then he snorted into a laugh. "Get the drop on him, B?" He shook his head as I giggled. "You're right. We got him before he could hurt anybody, and that's what matters."

We ate in silence for a few minutes, and then he reached over and squeezed my hand. "Thanks, Bella."

"For what?" I couldn't think of what I'd done that needed thanking for.

He shrugged. "For not letting me beat myself over the head about it and for reminding me that it ended well. Before you..." He snorted, finishing off the rest of his wine before replying. "I'd have been pissed off at myself for days, if not longer, and I'd have taken it out on everyone around me. It helps to have you to talk to about this shit. I didn't know if I'd be able to do that, to share with you about the job and not have it scare you or whatever."

"You can always talk to me," I said, getting up and sliding into his lap. "Just like I know I can come to you with anything I'm worried or upset about." Running my fingers through his head, I scratched lightly at his scalp, smiling when I felt him relax under me. "That's how this relationship thing works, okay?"

He nodded, kissing my lips lightly. "Now eat, baby. You need your strength because I'm not nearly done with you yet."

I laughed and moved back to my seat, picking my fork back up and doing as he'd instructed.

~oOo~

Tuesday morning dawned way too early for my tastes. Edward and I had crawled back into bed after dinner the night before, only coming out when Alice called to check in – calling Edward's cell phone when she couldn't reach me on mine, which was still downstairs – and to get something to drink around ten. The clock had hit midnight before my eyes had finally closed. Edward had woken me at two thirty, pressed up against me from behind as he teased my nipples into hard little nubs. I'd barely been fully awake before he was sliding inside me, bringing me to completion with his fingers on my clit before coming himself. Then I'd woken at just after five, reaching out to him after a dream that had left me breathless and aroused.

"Damn," I groaned as I climbed out of bed. "I may walk around like a cowboy all day today."

Edward laughed. "I'd say I'm sorry, beautiful, but..."

I snorted. "You're not."

"I'm definitely not," he said unashamedly, smirking proudly as he climbed out of bed.

"You"—I poked his chest—"stay right there, mister. You need more sleep. I need to get home so I can shower and put on clean clothes before work."

"Baby, let me drive you—"

Shaking my head, I said, "I'm good, Edward. I promise. I'll text you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay, but at least let me walk you out."

I pretended to think about it as I pulled my T-shirt over my head. Then I sighed a put-upon sigh to tease him and said, "All right. If you must."

He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on, handing me my socks and kneeling down with my shoes in his hands. Once the socks were on, he helped me into the shoes and tied them before standing back up and holding out his hand.

When we got downstairs, I grabbed my purse from the living room and dug out my keys while Edward went into the kitchen.

"I'm leaving," I called out when he didn't reappear right away.

"Wait up, B." He came out of the kitchen and moved to meet me at the door. "Here, baby. I got you something yesterday."

When he held out his hand, I saw two keys on a little keyring shaped like a calculator.

"I wasn't sure...I mean, I got them just in case. You don't have to keep 'em if—"

I stopped him with a kiss, tears welling in my eyes. "Thank you," I whispered against his lips. He and Jasper already had keys to our house, but that he'd wanted to give me copies of his house keys meant a lot. Especially since he'd had them done before I came over and we'd talked.

He smiled, reaching up to cup my cheek. "Come over after work, okay? And bring clothes for tomorrow."

Nodding, I kissed him again and then opened the door. "I'll text you at lunch. Get some sleep, Edward."

Shrugging, he said, "I might. Just planning to bum around the house today, maybe get a run in, too, since it's been a while."

"Good." I smiled, pocketing the keys he'd given me. "Love you, but I gotta go. I need to shower so I don't smell like sex all day."

Edward laughed. "Love you, too – and I wouldn't mind you smelling like sex all day. Just sayin'."

I snorted and shook my head, stepping outside. "I'm sure you wouldn't," I teased, giving him a finger wave as I made my way across the porch to the car.

He was still standing in the doorway watching as I backed out of the drive and took off.

I knew Alice would already be getting ready for work, so when I stopped at the stoplight, I quickly texted her and said I was on my way home to get ready. She replied almost immediately that she would be waiting to hear all the details.

Laughing, I put my phone away and waited for the light to turn green.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

The shrill ring of my phone dragged me out of sleep, and I snatched the damn thing up without even bothering to look at who it was. Once Bella had left, I'd crashed back out on my sofa in front of the TV.

"Cullen," I grunted, rubbing my face.

"Hey, son," my dad sang on the other end. "Just checking on that hand. Any better?"

I eyed it, flexing my fingers and then making a fist. The long scratch was tender, but not unbearable. "Yeah. No, it's great, Dad. Thanks. It's a shit-ton better. No more swelling."

"Oh, good," he said, and then his voice was muffled as he muttered instructions to someone. "And the girl?" he asked with a chuckle.

I grinned. "Bella."

"Yeah. Did she call?"

"As a matter of fact, she did," I sang proudly, sitting up on the couch. I grabbed the remote for the TV and shut it off. "I'm seeing her again tonight."

As far as this topic was concerned, I figured...fuck it. The ground work could start now. He'd seen me talk to Bella, seen what he'd thought was me giving her my number, so we could certainly go with the fucking flow. But that also meant that Jasper and I needed to have a long talk with each other and the girls. It also meant Uncle Al needed to know.

"_Again_? Really?" my dad asked, sounding surprised.

I rolled my eyes and rubbed my face again. My reputation was going to be an uphill battle. "You saw her, right? She's gorgeous." I grinned at his chuckle. "And she's new there, so don't you go using all that pull you've got and start hunting her down. You'll meet her when I say so. This is new, and I don't want you crazy people scaring her off."

"Then I'll keep it from your mother. She'll have me stalking the poor girl," he said, laughing. "At least tell me what department."

"Umm, accounting or some shit," I hedged, not knowing exactly the term for it. "Really sweet and smart, too. And she's got a twin sister. We're thinking of introducing her to Jazz."

"Damn, there's another one that pretty?"

I cracked the fuck up. "Fraternal, Dad."

"Oh." He was quiet for a moment. "I hope it works out, son," he said with a suddenly serious tone. "You deserve it."

"We'll see. I may drive her insane. Who knows," I sighed, suddenly missing my girl like fucking crazy.

"Maybe, but as your mother tells me, we're supposed to drive them nuts," he stated, and I could almost see his shrug through the damn phone. He muttered something away from the phone and then came back to me. "I gotta run, Edward. Take care of that hand...and the girl."

"Yes, sir," I sighed, ending the call and tossing my phone onto the end table.

I gave my house a long, slow gaze. It was still pretty damn tidy from cleaning before Bella came over, but I knew I needed to get a few things done, as well as get in a run. With that thought, I got my lazy ass up and got to work.

After starting a few loads of laundry, finally emptying my duffel bags, and making the decision to leave the sheets because I liked that my bed smelled like Bella, I tugged on some shorts and went for a run.

It was about noon when I rounded the corner and made my way back up my street. As I got closer to my house, I saw Jasper's truck in my driveway. He was leaning against the driver's side door, fucking with his phone, when I made it to my mailbox, snatched open the door, and grabbed my mail.

"There you are. I was just about to bust the door down, thinking Bella had killed you in your sleep," he stated, jerking a thumb back toward my house.

"You have a key, asshole," I reminded him, rolling my eyes and trying to calm my breathing.

He grinned. "I know, but it would be fun to bust your door down for the hell of it."

"Then _you_ can explain that shit to my mother," I growled, poking his chest as I walked past him. "She special-ordered that shit."

He chuckled as he followed me inside. "So," he said, dragging out the word, "things went okay?"

Smiling at him, I dropped my mail onto the kitchen counter and walked to the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of water and downed half of it before answering with, "Things went..." I sighed, glancing over at him. "I don't deserve her, but she forgave me anyway."

He shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, well, for some reason, she likes your stubborn ass," he taunted, shoving me out of the way and grabbing a soda from my fridge. "Guess you weren't kidding." He pointed to my chest. "You did see Garrett."

I glanced down at my new ink that was stinging a little with the sweat. "Yeah. It's for Bella," I said softly, not sure I wanted to explain the meaning behind it.

He eyed me for a second, glancing between my eyes and the ink. "It fits," was all he said before walking to my counter and taking one of the stools. "I tried calling you, but..." He waved a hand to me. "Now I know where you were. I'm kinda bored, dude. I'm used to watching them twenty-four-fucking-seven, and now they're off to work eight hours a day."

I snorted and then finished off my water. "No shit, man. You can chill here. I needed to talk to you anyway."

We ordered a couple of pizzas as he hung out with me. I folded laundry, started another load, and we ate pizza as I told him about all the shit that had gone down in the last few days – the fugitive recovery, getting completely trashed, Garrett, and finally, seeing Bella at the hospital.

"No shit?! Your dad saw you talking to her? Well, what the fuck does that mean?" he gasped through a mouthful of pizza.

I shrugged. "It means exactly that. That he saw me 'hit' on her," I said, using air quotes. "We have to go with it, Jasper. I have no choice. I was fucking losing my mind over her, and then she was _there_. Like _right there_. I... Fuck, I was on my way to crawl into her window if I had to in order to talk to her, so I wasn't exactly thinking straight when I saw her walk by."

He smirked, shaking his head. "Well, if you'd checked in, I coulda told you she'd gotten the damn job she'd wanted. And she was so upset with _you _that I was afraid to even mention that it was the same damn hospital Carlisle works."

I waved that shit away. I wasn't dredging all that madness back up again. "If I hadn't stepped back, I'd have really, truly, _royally_ fucked up." I rolled my eyes at his laugh but sat down in the chair across from him. "So we need to talk to the girls and Al."

"What'cha thinkin'?" he asked, tipping his soda back.

"I'm thinking keep it simple. I _met_ Bella, and we'll _introduce_ you and Alice," I told him. "We'll, I don't know, set up to meet out somewhere."

Nodding, he said, "I like it. It's easy." He stood up and tossed his garbage into the can. "But _you're_ calling Al. Not me."

I tsked. "Fine. I'll call him now." I picked my phone up, seeing a text from Bella, which made me smile.

_Hey, baby. Do you want me to grab dinner on my way over tonight? And do I need pajamas for this sleepover? ;) ~B_

Chuckling, I sent my answer right back.

_Yes to dinner. Surprise me with whatever, but you should know that you're dessert. And fuck NO to the pajamas! How's work? ~E_

I sent that off, immediately calling Al and putting it on speakerphone.

"Chambers."

"Hey, Uncle Al," I said, grinning when he snorted.

"_Uncle_ Al, is it? You want something. What the hell is it? It wouldn't happen to be something to do with a girl you met at the hospital, now would it?"

"Jesus, Al. How do you _know_ this shit?" I asked, almost whining.

Jasper laughed at the same time my uncle did.

"Relax, kid," he said with a chuckle. "I had lunch with your dad today. He said you met this pretty brunette at the hospital. So I guess you have your story."

"I know it's kinda soon, but there were...circumstances that couldn't be avoided," I said with a grip to my hair.

"Circumstances? Like that beautiful girl was pretty damn pissed off at you?" he asked, amusing himself and Jasper to no end. "Nah, kid. It works. And it's easy. You probably couldn't have set it up any better. Besides, your dad said you were smitten from the get-go."

Groaning, I shook my head. "So you're okay with it?"

"Yeah, son, it's fine. It works. Just take your time with it, like you would if you were really dating Bella. Give it some time before bringing her over for Sunday lunch with the family, got me?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, the word "date" making me frown. I needed to take my girl out for the whole nine yards – movie, dinner, drinks, dancing. All that good shit. I needed to really show Bella Seattle.

"And as far as Whitlock is concerned? You two can double date or some shit. Just make it look legit. You're comfortable around those sweet girls, but it wasn't always so. Remember to keep the PDA down to a minimum around the family when you do take them over," he explained with a snicker in his voice. "Got it, kid?"

"Got it."

"And make sure the girls have their new backstory down pat. Otherwise, I don't see an issue."

"Thanks, Al," I sighed in relief. When I ended the call, I looked to Jasper. "I guess we have our story. We'll need to talk to the girls."

He smiled, glancing up at the clock. "Okay, I'm out of here. I promised Alice I'd cook for her tonight, and I still need to grab all the stuff. Later, Ed," he called out with a wave.

"Later," I told him, walking upstairs after he slammed my front door. On my way up, my phone alerted again.

_Please don't drive the girlfriend crazy while she's trying to learn new stuff, Edward. What's wrong with you? ~B_

I cracked the fuck up, imagining that sexy, dark-eyed look she always got when I'd said something that turned her on. My dick perked up at the mere thought of it, even more at the word "girlfriend." He was just as whipped for her as I was. And the asshole was jumping the damn gun. It would be a few hours before she'd be at my house. With a smile, I typed my answer, thinking it was a fucking relief to be able to say how I really felt about her.

_I love you, beautiful. That's what's wrong with me. ~E_

I turned on the shower and stripped out of my running shorts, but before I stepped in, she sent another text.

_I love you, too. So much. See you in a few hours. ~B_

~oOo~

I heard the car's engine in my driveway as I rumbled down the stairs, tugging on a plain white T-shirt as I went. After my shower hours earlier, I'd let my new tattoo have the benefit of being out in the open with nothing rubbing against it. Yanking the front door open, I came to a standstill at the sight before me.

Shaking my head, my eyes raked over long, sexy bare legs as Bella slid gracefully from my car. I licked my lips as my brain went blank – completely and utterly blank – as she bent down to grab the bags out of the back seat. The pencil holding her hair in a knot, the fitted silvery gray shirt, and the tight, black skirt she was wearing brought back years of porn, of teacher and librarian scenarios, and suddenly, they were infesting my mind like a tidal wave of naughty thoughts – thoughts that needed punishment.

That made a slow smile creep up my face as she walked to me. It was then that I snapped out of my fucking awesome fantasies and back to the fact that my girl was loaded down with a shit-ton of just...stuff.

"Fuck," I hissed, shaking my head again to clear it. "Hey, baby. Let me help you."

"Hey," she sighed, kissing my lips, "and thanks."

I took the small bag she'd packed and a large paper bag that was smelling pretty damn good. "What'd you bring?"

"Burgers, from that place you told me about," she answered, smirking when I groaned.

"Fuck me, you went to T.D.'s?" I growled, burying my face in the bag to inhale the best burger outside of the diner in Forks. Bella's giggle made me smile and glance over at her as we stepped up onto my porch, but I stopped in my tracks. "Wait. That's a sports bar. Those fuckers are douchebags. Tell me no one fucking touched you." I gestured up and down her body. If I was thinking wicked thoughts, then I _knew_ some other motherfucker would. "Dressed like that..." My voice trailed off when she raised her eyebrow.

"Dressed like what?" she asked.

"All sexy and shit." That was what I said aloud, but what I'd _wanted_ to say was, "Like a walking, talking, living, breathing wet fucking dream." And my dick twitched in agreement because we knew all about those since Bella had come into our lives.

Bella rolled her eyes. "No, silly. I called it in before leaving work, went in, paid, and left."

My eyes narrowed on her, my imagination running the gamut of things that could've happened. A warm hand landed on my jaw once we were inside the house.

"I'm fine. Nothing happened." Her brow furrowed as her eyes raked over my face. "You know I'd call you if something upset me. You're the first person I'd need. Right, Edward?"

Dropping her packed bag to the floor and the food onto the table by the front door, I pulled her to me, but tilted her chin up. "You swear? No...inappropriate comments, no snide fucking remarks, not even a couple of guys staring? Nothing?"

She snorted. "If they stared, I wouldn't know. I didn't pay them any attention. As for the other things, nothing happened. I _swear_." She tacked on the last two words in a hurry, and I finally relaxed just a little. "Speaking of how I'm dressed... Do you mind if I change before we eat? I was gonna do it at home, but I was...interrupting – my sister and Jasper barely even stopped making out to say hello." She snorted. "So I just grabbed my bag and ran." She grinned, kissing my chin before trying to step away.

"Uh-uh," I grunted, pulling her back and pressing her against the door. "Let me," I whispered, bracing one hand beside her head as, with the other, I trailed a finger down the buttons of her shirt, around the waist of her skirt, and finally along the outside of one of the glorious bare thighs. "Do you have _any_ fucking idea how tempting you are, Bella?" I asked her as my hand flattened on her thigh and slid up and underneath that skirt. "Do you?" When she shook her head no, I skimmed my hand from her thigh around to her ass to find that beautiful thing bare and plump, just barely covered with what I finally discovered was a thong.

Hitching her leg up around my hip, I found out it was a very _wet_ thong as my fingers explored every inch of her under that skirt.

I licked my lips and dropped my forehead to hers, forgetting about burgers and sports bars. "Who makes you this wet?"

"Y-You," she stuttered.

"How long have you suffered this way, baby?" I asked her, thinking she'd been only been here for five fucking minutes.

"All day," she breathed, locking those dark eyes with mine.

Pulling my braced hand away from the door, I reached down and picked her up, which not only caused those amazing legs to wrap around me, but that skirt of hers to push up just beneath her ass. She clung to my T-shirt at the shoulders as I braced her against the door.

"Mmmm," I hummed, flicking open the buttons of her shirt one by glorious one. "You were sore when you left this morning. Did you feel me all day?"

She nodded, smirking a little. "Yeah."

"I fucking love that," I rumbled against her collarbone when I pulled her shirt to the side to reveal her silvery gray bra that almost matched her shirt, but with lace and silky shit that was barely covering her tightly peaked nipples. "I love that I can make you wet without even being there."

Her laugh was low and sexy, but her fingers tugged at my T-shirt. I pulled away from the door long enough to yank her shirt off her shoulders and let her remove mine over my head. We dropped them to the floor, but I went right back to touching and kissing every inch of skin I'd just revealed.

"I shouldn't miss you like this. It's only been a day," I admitted softly against the soft skin of her neck as my fingers delved into the cups of her bra. Both actions caused her hips to grind against my dick, who was hoping against all hope that this was leading to him getting to be inside her.

"I know," she agreed, grasping either side of my face and pulling my mouth to hers.

The kiss snapped our control. I cupped, pinched, and rolled her nipples in one hand while the other moved to cup her ass, yanking her thong to one side in order to feel on my fingers how much she wanted me. Tongues and teeth and lips collided, joined with the most amazing sounds coming from her, especially when my fingers slipped softly along her folds from behind.

I pulled back to watch her mouth fall open, so I pulled my hand from her ass, only to slip it between us. Leaning her back just a little, my lips and tongue wrapped around her nipple, sucking on it hard as I finally slid my fingers as deep into her as I could from the current angle.

"Tell me, baby," I whispered, dragging my tongue flat across that sweet peak. "What'd you think about to get you this wet?"

"You...Your...Fuck, Edward," she panted, her eyes squeezing closed as the heel of my hand pressed where she was swollen and aching. "Everything," she grunted, her whole body writhing in an erotic wave of want and need as she let me fuck her with my fingers.

"No, no now," I chided, nipping at the skin just behind her ear. "Specifics, beautiful. Details."

She lifted her head, wrapped her arms around me, and kissed me fucking stupid. "I said everything, Edward. Your hands, your mouth...and...and..." Her breathing caught in her throat when my thumb rolled lazily around her clit.

I wanted her to fucking explode right there against my door. I wanted to be reminded of it every time I looked at it.

"And?" I prompted, unable to hide my smirk when she was speechless for a couple of seconds.

Her eyes were hazy with lust and warm with love as she gazed at me, but her sight was locked onto my chest.

"My ink," she whispered, licking her lips as her sweet, tight pussy clenched hard around my finger. My girl was close – damn close. "And..."

I grinned as she tried to continue, but only a long, slow, sexy moan erupted into the air. "And? Come on, baby. Say it."

"And..." she panted, grabbing my face as her hips met the rhythm of my hand. "And how fucking amazing it feels when you're inside me, s-saying you love me."

That wasn't the answer I'd been expecting, and my chest actually ached with how much I loved her. Leaning forward, I kissed her – reverently, deeply.

"I do. So fucking much," I breathed against her lips. "Come, beautiful. Show me you love me."

Giving her sweet clit the attention it needed, I locked my gaze onto Bella's face as she shattered in my arms. Before she could even take the next breath, I pulled her away from the door and laid her down on my sofa, bracing my arm beside her head. I yanked the pencil from her hair, spilling chocolate locks – almost the color of my couch – around her.

I was just about to kiss the shit out of her, but she stopped me. Her hands worked my basketball shorts down, which spilled my aching dick onto her stomach. But it was the soft, feather-light kiss to the ink on my chest that made me moan. It was her ink, and she knew it. I could tell she was just biding her time for it to heal so that she could truly lavish it the way she wanted. I wasn't the only possessive, crazy person in this relationship.

"You have too many clothes on," I muttered, biting my bottom lip when her hand wrapped around my dick, giving it a long, firm pump.

Bella shook her head. "No, can't wait. Inside. Now, Edward, please."

Shoving her skirt up around her waist, I practically ripped silvery gray lace as I wrenched her thong to the side, but I sank into her sweet heaven slowly.

"Fuck," I grunted, having to stop for a moment, and my forehead met hers again.

I locked with expectant brown eyes, and half my mouth quirked up into a smile. I knew what she wanted. She'd been thinking about it all damn day, and holy fuck, I wanted to give it her. I owed her that and much, much more. I knew dinner would go cold, that we needed to talk about our future and meeting my family, and I knew we had all night, but fuck me if I couldn't find it in me to care. All I wanted, all she wanted, was to hear those four simple words. Everything else could fucking wait.

"I love you, Bella."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Okay, so the "meeting" is official through Uncle Al. The guys just have to nail down the specifics with the girls.**

**We have to say that sometimes, our readers surprise the heck out of us. roxnroll absolutely nailed it last chapter: "I loved that ya'll decided to bring Maggie into this. I think that in a way, it brought Edward full circle. Was that why Bella asked him, _'And this was today? After...After that?!' she gasped, pointing to my new tattoo._ I guess she just assumed that Maggie was the one who set him free, when in actuality it was Bella?" She was spot-on.**

**I'm not sure if you can tell, but now that Edward is in, he's ALL IN. That's probably what scared him the most from the beginning. There's no going back for him now. I thought you should know that now, considering there is a bit left to go on this fic. There are a few more obstacles to climb.**

**Fic recs… So I've been reading like mad. Let's see. _The Boy at Table Seven_ by LyricalKris. Amazing and really good fic that tackles some RL issues. It's not angsty, in my opinion. In fact, there's some good humor mixed in. An older Edward, too. I liked it a lot. Also, _Overpass_ by purelyamuse. This wasn't a fluffy read, but the way it was written made it easier to take. It's a past/present fic, but done in a way that you keep going for more. It touches on some really harsh issues – addiction, poor parenting, and all around teen angst. It is set in high school mostly, but I really got lost in it. Lastly, _My Mate_ by princessrachel. Oh, now…this was good vampy lovin' at its best, not to mention it was a nice twist on the mating idea. And she's got a complete sequel, which I'm tackling now.**

**Don't forget, you can see all the pics for _IP_ on my blog and Jenny's site. The links are on our profile. There are pictures for this chapter (including ones that we did NOT tease on FB & Twitter), as well as ones for most of the previous chapters—and that includes Marshalward's amazing Batman tatt that was manip'd for us by the amazing Mimi Holmes. He's pretty. Trust me.**

**Okay, we'll see you again on Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb. :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N #1: Not a lot to say in this one, except thank you so much for the love you guys continually show us. Deb & I appreciate it more than words can express. Enjoy this one. ;) There's a part in here that is just too cute for words! See Deb at the bottom. Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 29**

**Bella POV**

"No, I wanna bowl more," I whined as Edward pulled the Wii bat from the cabinet.

Alice laughed. "That's 'cause you suck at baseball, B."

"Shut it, Pix." I glared at her until her unrepentantly amused expression finally cracked my resolve, and then I joined the rest of them in laughter. "Yeah, yeah. I suck at baseball." Rolling my eyes, I said, "Fine, but you guys start. I need something to drink."

I tossed my Wii-mote down on the couch and made my way to the kitchen. When I stood up after grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, strong arms wrapped around me from behind.

"You know, Bella," Edward's voice said softly, his breath ghosting across my neck and shoulder, "we don't really have to play baseball."

Laughing, I set my drink on the counter and turned in his arms. "Nah, it's all good. I was just teasing. Yes, I suck – I swear I can never time my swing right! – but you guys bowled for me first, so I'll put on my big girl panties."

His eyes darkened, and I knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. "Oh, baby. If you don't want to wear panties – big girl or otherwise – you don't have to on my account."

_And there it was._

I grinned and stepped up on my toes to kiss him once. "Horny man. You'd love it if I went around naked all the time, wouldn't you?" I teased.

"Why yes, I would," he answered, looking completely unashamed.

"Mmhmm, that's what I thought. Not today, baby, but maybe someday." I winked, grabbed my water, and then turned to leave the kitchen.

Cracking the fuck up, Edward stepped up beside me, smacked my ass in a teasing blow, and said, "Good. I call tomorrow as _Naked Bella Day._ Put it on the calendar."

I couldn't help but giggle, even as I rolled my eyes. "I'll be sure to do that," I deadpanned, "but only if you join me."

"Oh, beautiful," he purred low, leaning in so only I could hear, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

A few minutes later, as I struck out for the third time in a row, Jasper asked, "So, B, how'd your first week of work go?"

Turning my gaze from Edward, who was up to bat after me, I said, "Great, actually. Everyone is really sweet there in the office. I've already met a lot of nice people. Yesterday was Caroline's last day. You knew that she'd been ordered to bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy, right? She told me yesterday at lunch that it's because she's pregnant with twins and already having blood pressure problems, even though she's only four months along. She apparently lost their last baby, so the doctor was taking no chances. She was lucky she got to stay on for the week to get me started."

"That's rough," Jasper said, frowning.

I nodded. "Yeah, but she said the doctor's optimistic that staying off her feet and avoiding stress will go a long way to getting her as close to full-term as possible. She was just very grateful that I'd been able to start right away so she didn't feel so bad about leaving." Shrugging, I continued, "I didn't tell her I was grateful that she'd had to leave suddenly so I was able to get a job that quickly!"

"It all worked out best for both of you," Edward said smoothly, taking his seat beside me as Alice stepped up to play.

"Mmhmm," I said, smiling and accepting his kiss to my temple.

A knock on the door startled us all, causing Alice to swing and miss, striking out.

"Damn it all," she groaned, tossing the bat to Jasper.

Since she was closest to the door, she peeked through the curtain in the window, grinning as she then pulled the door open. "Hi, Betty," she sang, stepping back and allowing our neighbor to come inside.

When I heard the name, I stood and moved over to them.

Betty stepped in, flashing a smile. "Hi, sweetheart. Hello, Bella." She smiled warmly at me before turning to the boys. "Edward, Jasper. These girls keeping you in line?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jasper drawled, causing Edward to roll his eyes before he stood and made his way to us.

"Hi, Betty," Edward said, smiling and reaching out for the casserole dish and small container Betty had in her hands. "Here, let me take those for you."

"Oh, yes, thank you." Betty gladly handed them over and then looked to Alice and me. "I made lasagna this morning to take to a church dinner tonight, and it was just as easy to make a double batch." She rattled off instructions for reheating it as Edward took the dishes to the kitchen.

"Thank you," I told her, my stomach growling at the thought. I loved lasagna, but we hadn't had it in a while. "Would you like to sit down?"

She looked disappointed as she shook her head. "Thank you, Bella, but I can't stay long, unfortunately. I'm supposed to help them set up for the dinner, and I still have some things I need to do before I go." Then she smiled. "I did want to hear about your first week of work, though, girls."

I'd run into her early in the week as I went for a walk one evening with Edward, and I'd told her about both of us finding jobs already. Alice and I gave her a condensed version of our weeks, and by the end, Betty was smiling again.

"Good! You girls deserve to be happy, and I'm glad the jobs seem to be working out so far."

Her comment about deserving to be happy threw me, but when I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, Edward gave a little head shake, which I took to mean, "Not now." Instead, I said, "Thank you," and gave her a smile.

"Alice, you'll have to let me know when your kids put on their first recital, okay? I'll be sure to come watch."

My sister grinned, nodding. "I will. I'm not sure when that'll be. I don't think we'll have one until December, for Christmas, but I'll let you know."

Betty nodded and then looked at her watch. "I'd better run. Remember, three fifty for twenty to thirty minutes, and if it's a little dry, use that extra sauce."

We said we would and thanked her again for the food.

"We'll wash the dishes and get them back to you as soon as we can," I promised.

She waved off my comment. "No rush, sweetheart. Boys," she said, raising an eyebrow at Edward and Jasper, "be good." Grinning as they laughed, she turned back to the door.

Jasper stepped up beside her. "Let me walk you home, ma'am."

Betty stopped in the doorway and put up her hand to stop him from going any farther. "Thank you, Jasper, but I'll be fine." When he started to protest, she shook her head. "I'll be fine," she repeated firmly, smiling when he relaxed and nodded. "Bye, girls," she called over her shoulder, and we watched until she stepped down from the porch before Jasper shut the door behind her.

"Mmm, damn. Homemade lasagna," he crowed, rubbing his stomach. "Would it be too much to ask if you ladies would invite us to stay for dinner?"

Alice and I rolled our eyes. "Sorry!" she teased. "It's just for us, right, B?"

She squealed as Jasper scooped her up and carried her off down the hall.

Edward and I laughed at them before turning to the TV, which was paused at Jasper's turn to bat.

"Guess that's the end of baseball, hmm?" I asked with a grin.

He nodded, and then suddenly, I found myself up and over his shoulder, staring at his ass as he took off in the same direction.

"I can think of something I'd rather be doing anyway," he said simply, and then he growled as I reached down and smacked his behind. "Hey now!"

Laughing, I said, "One good turn deserves another, Edward."

"Mm, we'll see about that," he huffed as I closed the bedroom door behind us.

I was still laughing as he dropped me onto the bed.

~oOo~

That night, as we dug into Betty's lasagna, Edward cleared his throat before speaking. "Ladies, since it's been a week since my dad saw me meet Bella for what he thought was the first time, Al has agreed that we can begin to...out our relationships, for lack of a better phrase."

A thrill ran through me at the idea of not having to hide anymore, of finally meeting Edward's family – even though that same thought terrified me to no end.

"Yeah?" Alice squeaked, looking at Jasper excitedly.

"Yeah, darlin'," he echoed, giving her a smile. "But that means we gotta make sure you have your new backstory down."

When Alice looked at me, raising an eyebrow, I motioned for her to go ahead.

"Bella and I were born April tenth. We turned twenty-five a few months ago. Bella's four minutes older, which she never lets me forget." She winked playfully in my direction as I nodded haughtily.

"Damn straight, baby sister." I grinned before taking over for her. "We grew up in Phoenix, living there with our parents until we went to college in California at USC. I have a degree in business accounting."

"My degree is in performing arts, of course," Alice said, and then her face turned sad and her voice wasn't nearly as light and happy as it had been. "Our parents were Robert and Caroline. He was an accountant, which is where Bella got her love of numbers, and she was an art teacher, who loved everything artistic. They died..." Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lip, so I took over again.

"They died when we were in college – hit by a drunk driver and killed immediately. After graduation, we couldn't stand the idea of going back to Phoenix – without our parents there, it wasn't home anymore – so we stayed in California for a while, but we needed a change, so we just moved to Seattle."

"Good," Edward said, reaching out to take my hand and giving it a light squeeze. His voice was soft as he continued, "I can't imagine how tough it is to not be able to speak about who your parents really were and your memories of them. I...We wish we could give that to you. But to the four of us, your parents will always be Charlie and Renee Brandon, so you never have to forget them. No matter what names you call them when you mention them to people, you need to remember they loved you, and that's what's important now."

Alice and I nodded, whispering our thanks before pushing our plates away. Apparently, that conversation had killed what little appetite either of us had left.

"Done, baby?" Edward asked, leaning over to whisper softly into my ear.

"Yeah, I think so," I said with a shrug.

"Mmkay. It'll reheat well, so let me know if you get hungry later?" When I nodded, he smiled and picked up my plate along with his, taking it to the counter to put it in a container for the fridge.

"At least we'll have a good lunch tomorrow," Alice said as she slid the casserole dish into the fridge. "Are you going to your parents'?" she asked Edward, who nodded.

"Yeah, for dinner. I'll be here for lunch if you wanna share, short stuff."

She shrugged and said playfully, "Maybe. We'll see."

Once the rest of the food was put away and the dishes were done, Alice suggested a movie, so Edward and I curled up on one end of the couch, leaving the other end for the two of them. I lay across his lap, my head on his shoulder, as we lightened the somber mood considerably by starting the first season of _The Big Bang Theory,_ which Edward and Jasper had never seen. It had recently come out on Blu-ray, and since Alice and I both loved it, we knew the guys would, too. We'd bought it on our first shopping trip in Seattle a few weeks before.

"I can't believe I've missed so much of this show," Edward said from beside me a good long while later. He'd laughed so hard at some of it that I'd had to move from his lap so I didn't fall off to the floor.

I giggled, poking his side. "I know! I bet you thought nerds weren't your thing, huh?" I teased.

Edward wiggled his eyebrows. "They are now, though, aren't they, B?"

"This one better be, anyway." I tried to say it in a serious voice, but my amusement wasn't going to be hidden, and I laughed again.

"I can't believe it was a _Roseanne_ reunion," Jasper scoffed, shaking his head as he referred to Sara Gilbert's guest spot opposite Johnny Galecki. "Darlene and David, back together again."

"Does she stick around?" Edward asked.

"She'll be back, but only a few times," Alice answered.

Jasper nodded. "Good. Then I'm guessing Leonard gets the girl he really wants?"

Alice and I giggled.

"You guys are adorable," she said. "Now, hush so we can watch more! You'll enjoy the next one, too."

By the time we'd watched the first eight episodes, the guys were just as hooked on the show as Alice and I were. They both wanted to watch more, but Alice and I looked at each other and shook our heads.

"We've been watching over two and a half hours," I said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but it's funny," Edward argued with a shrug.

As Alice whispered something to Jasper, I leaned over and said quietly to Edward, "I'll make it worth your while..."

Edward took the remote from my hand and turned off the TV and Blu-ray player, immediately standing.

I giggled when Jasper stood as well and hoisted Alice over his shoulder.

"Goodnight!" she called out, laughing, as he carried her down the hall.

We echoed our goodnights, and then Edward pressed a kiss to my temple and said, "Go on, baby. I'll lock up and then come back there."

I nodded, turning my face up to accept another kiss to my lips this time, and then left him to check the doors and turn off the lights.

~oOo~

Five o'clock Monday couldn't have come around any more slowly. It'd been a great weekend spent mostly with Edward – until he'd left to go to dinner at his parents' house Sunday evening – and while I loved my new job so far, I hadn't wanted to go back to work. I was going to see him in a few minutes, though, which thrilled me. He'd promised to cook something tonight, even though I'd offered to pick up some takeout on my way over.

Waving at a few of the women in the office, I was able to avoid running into Martin, the only guy in the accounting office. He'd been friendly since my first day, trying to flirt, but he was so painfully shy that he just came across as scared and uncomfortable. I didn't want to have to turn him down if he asked me out, because I was sure it would hurt his feelings, so I hoped his nerves would continue to hold him back.

I got a text just as I was getting into the car, so I dug through my bag to find my phone and pulled it out before tossing the bag to the passenger seat.

_Hey, baby. Got a little surprise when you get here. Go ahead and pick up dinner, if you don't mind. Whatever sounds good. Love you. ~E_

"Huh," I grunted aloud before typing out a response.

_On my way now. Will stop for food and then be over. Any hints? LY2! ~B_

I started the car and thought about where I could pick up dinner. Subs sounded good, and there was a Subway between the hospital and Edward's house, so that would be perfect.

Before I pulled out of my parking space, my phone beeped, so I grabbed it to read Edward's text.

_No hints. ;) CU when you get here. ~E_

Huh. Okay, then. I laughed as I tossed the phone to the passenger seat beside my bag and then left the parking garage.

By the time I'd picked up our dinner and made it to Edward's house, parking behind his bike under the carport, I was hungry and ready to get inside and take off my shoes. I'd eaten a quick lunch in the hospital cafeteria, but it hadn't been great – no more of the hospital's dry chicken and chewy dumplings for me – and my feet were killing me. I was wearing a new pair of heels, and while they made my legs look great, they were uncomfortable after having had them on all day.

I could hear music coming softly through the door as I knocked once and then used the key Edward had given me to let myself in. The sight that met my eyes made me forget every damn thing I'd had in my head, including how sore my feet were.

Edward was sitting on the couch, leaning back against the cushion. He was wearing a soft-looking heather gray T-shirt and well-worn jeans, and his feet were bare, but it was the precious little bundle on his chest that made me swoon and my girly parts squeal.

He held a finger up to his lips and smiled.

"Hey," I cooed softly, closing the door so I didn't wake a sleeping Emma.

I toed off my heels and dropped my purse on the entry table and then moved over to set our dinner on the coffee table.

"Hey, beautiful," Edward said as I sat down on the couch beside them. "Sorry about this."

I waved away his apology and turned my gaze back to the baby. Her lips were puckered and moving, like she was sucking on a bottle that wasn't there, and there was a tiny drop of drool dripping down her chin. But the cutest thing was the grip she had on Uncle Edward's T-shirt, like she didn't want to let him go, even in sleep.

"I'd planned to cook," he continued quietly. "I even went shopping for all the ingredients I'd need to make stir-fry. But then Rose showed up at the door about thirty minutes ago and begged me to watch Ladybug. There was a break-in at the coffee shop, so she needed to go in. Emmett's covering for someone at work, so he won't be able to pick her up until after six."

"That's fine, Edward, really." I smiled. "She's adorable."

He nodded. "Yeah, she's pretty perfect." He dipped his head and brushed a kiss across the top of her soft, baby-fine hair.

My ovaries nearly exploded at the sight, and I couldn't help but lean over and kiss him.

Smiling, he said, "Lemme put her down, and then we can eat."

Once he'd carefully stood, he moved to the car seat on the floor in front of the coffee table and slowly lowered Emma into it, prying her hands gently from her shirt when she seemed determined not to let go. When she stirred and gave a soft cry, he pulled a pacifier from the diaper bag beside the carrier and popped it into her mouth. She immediately calmed, settling back into sleep.

"Motown today, huh?" I teased as he sat back down beside me and reached for the sandwich I held out.

He shrugged, grinning without shame. "She really likes Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. It calmed her right down after Rose left."

I laughed at just how damn cute he was.

"So tell me about your day, baby," he prompted before biting into the huge cheesesteak I'd gotten him.

~oOo~

Emma woke up half an hour later, as Edward and I were cuddling on the couch. We'd finished our subs and talked about our days, so we were just enjoying the soft music in the background, kissing and snuggling as we watched his niece sleep.

When she squawked and then began to cry, opening her eyes and flailing her arms, Edward was up and off the couch before I could even think about moving. He scooped her up, setting her on his chest as he swayed gently from side to side.

"It's okay, Ladybug," he crooned, rocking her back and forth. "No need to cry, see?"

When the music changed from the Four Tops to the Temptations, Edward smiled and held out his hand to me. I laughed softly as I took it and stood, moving into his arms. He wrapped one arm around my waist, holding me to him, as the other cradled Ladybug securely to his chest.

"I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day," he sang softly along to the music.

Emma's eyes were open, and she was trying to look up and focus on his face, but she couldn't quite see him. I reached out and stroked her cheek, smiling as her little arm flailed and she found my finger with her fist, gripping on tight with the hand that wasn't attached to Edward's T-shirt.

"What can make me feel this way? My girl. Talkin' 'bout my girl," Edward sang softly before looking down at me and smiling.

My heart just about melted at the warm expression on his face, the love in his eyes, as he looked from me to Emma and back again. I tightened my hold around his waist and laid my head on his chest opposite the baby, grinning when she pulled my finger to her mouth and began to gum it to death.

"Think she's hungry?" he chest rumbled as he looked down to ask.

"I think so. Did Rose leave a bottle?"

He nodded his head toward the diaper bag at our feet. "Yeah, it's all there in the bag. Rose said she's eating about three ounces right now."

I nodded and eased my finger from her grip, wiping it on my skirt before moving away and finding the bottle and can of formula. "I'll go make this up for her."

I could hear him singing softly as I fixed her bottle in the kitchen, sticking it in the microwave for twenty seconds. Then I shook it well and tested it on my inner wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot before carrying it back into the living room.

Edward was back on the couch, and he shifted Emma from his shoulder to the crook of his arm before I passed him the bottle.

"Thanks," he murmured, smiling my way as the baby latched onto the nipple.

He'd just gotten her to burp after finishing the bottle when there was a knock on the door, and I jumped when the door opened and a head peeked in.

"Hey, Ed. Can I...Oh!" Edward's brother-in-law, Emmett, stepped inside before Edward could say anything.

I looked over at Edward, panicked, but he just smiled and winked.

"Yeah, Em. Come on in."

Emmett shut the door and grinned as he moved over to me. "You must be Bella," he said, sticking out his hand.

When I took it to say hello, he shocked me by pulling me up and out of my seat, wrapping me in a big bear hug. I squeaked, scrambling to find my footing.

"Good to meetcha," he said, patting my back a few times before releasing me. "Ed's told me a lot about you, but all that matters is you make him happy." He shrugged and then turned to Edward. "How's my girl?"

Edward smiled and handed her over before pulling me down to his lap. "She napped and just finished a bottle. The diaper's all yours."

Emmett grimaced, but said, "That's okay, isn't it, Ems? We're old pros at the diaper thing by now." He glanced at us, giving me a wink before asking Edward, "Don't suppose you have a clothespin, do ya?"

I laughed, finally relaxing. Emmett was a big guy, and he'd surprised me with the hug, but I could immediately tell that he was a softie under all the muscles and intimidating size.

"So, Bella, tell me," he started, raising an eyebrow.

I bit my lip, worried he'd ask me something about New York or my life as Marie Brandon.

"Emmett," Edward warned in a low voice.

Emmett waved him off, his eyes twinkling. "How's this guy been treating you? Do I need to take him out and give him a talking to?"

Laughing again, I shook my head, unable to keep from teasing Edward. "Not yet, but I'll let you know, Emmett. Thanks."

Emmett stayed another half an hour, telling us about the break-in at Rose's shop, before saying, "I'd better go. She thought she'd be home around seven thirty, so I'm gonna get little one here bathed before she gets there. Thanks for watching her, man."

Edward shook his head and smiled. "Not a problem. She was good." He packed everything back in the diaper bag, including the bottle.

Emmett smiled as he transferred the baby from his shoulder to the car seat, buckling her in. "Thanks again." He looked up at me and grinned when he picked the now-secure Emma up and took the diaper bag from Edward. "Be sure to let me know if this one steps out of line, Bella-boo."

I grinned as Edward shook his head. "I will, Emmett. Thanks."

He looked at Edward. "Bring her around for dinner soon, man. I know your mom and Rosie will want to meet her."

Edward's arm slid around my shoulder, and he smiled down at me before nodding. "I will."

They bumped fists, and then Edward opened the door for him, letting Emmett and the baby get to the car before he closed it behind them.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Edward asked as he steered us back to the living room.

Remembering how fucking sexy he'd looked holding the baby, singing to his little Ladybug, I shook my head and pushed him down to his seat on the couch before reaching for the first button of my blouse.

"No, I have something else in mind."

I laughed when Edward leaned up and pulled his shirt off over his head.

"Yes," he said in a low, rumbly voice, dragging his hands up my legs to the hem of my skirt. "Definitely better than the TV."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Happy birthday, beautiful," I sang softly against Bella's forehead before grabbing the coffee pot. Fuck me, the girls got up early for work. "You, too, Alice." I chuckled, shooting her a wink.

"Thanks, Edward," she said, taking a bite of her cereal.

Bella smirked up at me. "It's April tenth, Edward."

"Yeah, yeah," Jasper drawled, waving a hand at her. "We know the given version, but in this room—"

"_We_ know the truth," I finished for him with a smug grin, which only served to earn me an eye roll from Bella. "It can still be a special day, B. You just can't tell anyone outside this house what it means." I turned to Jasper. "We should take them out. Tonight."

"It's a Thursday. We have to work tomorrow," Alice muttered, but of the two, she was the one that looked the most excited about that prospect. Bella, on the other hand, looked rather anxious.

"So we won't go big," Jasper stated, looking to me and then between the girls. "Just a few drinks after you two get done with work."

"How 'bout that place downtown? Play some pool, get some food? They've got good music, too," I suggested, but spun my head when the scraping of Bella's chair cut through the room.

"Mm, those fuck-awesome nachos," Jasper said dreamily, grinning when I nodded my head.

"Can't we just...drink here?" Bella asked, not bothering to look at any of us as she dumped her bowl into the sink.

My eyes narrowed on her, and there was a look there that I hadn't seen in a damn long time. Fear. She'd been flourishing in this new place, even more since the two of us had finally started truly talking about how we felt, but this was different. That facial expression went all the way back to how she'd looked when we'd landed in New York for the trial.

"We can," I hedged slowly, leaning against the counter and sipping my coffee. "But...I mean, we're free to go out, baby. We can be seen in public now." What I didn't want to say aloud in front of the other two was that I really, _really_ wanted to show my girl off. I didn't give a fuck what we did or where we went, but she was beautiful and she was mine, and I was ready for the whole damn world to know it.

"You and I are going out on Saturday," she countered, gesturing between us. She snorted when I grinned, because I wouldn't tell her a thing about what I had planned. "Plus," she went on, "we have to get up for work tomorrow. I can't think with a hangover, and I'm still learning new shit at the hospital."

Chuckling, I shook my head. "A few drinks, Bella. Not an all-nighter. C'mon..."

"I don't know," she sighed and then left the room.

I looked to Alice, who wrinkled her nose. Jasper had told me that he'd gone through this same shit when he'd wanted to celebrate the girls' new jobs. He didn't argue then, but everything had been so new, and he'd at least been able to get them dinner. But at that point, the girls had only been in their new place for a week. They'd now been in the house for just under a month.

I followed Bella into her bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed as she puttered around and gathered what she was going to wear for the day. The wrinkle between her eyebrows made me reach out and grab her when she walked by.

"Hey," I whispered, pulling her to stand between my legs. "What's this?" I trailed a finger lightly between her eyebrows, skimming down to the tip of her nose. "Why don't you want to go?"

"Edward, it's not...important to celebrate my...our birthday." She sighed frustratedly, looking away from me. "Why can't we just meet here? I don't want... The last time... _Here_ is safe," she finally sputtered out.

"Oh," I huffed, nodding in understanding. I grasped either side of her face, forcing her forehead to mine. "Look at me, beautiful." Her worried brown eyes locked with mine, and I brushed my lips across hers. "Do you think – _for one fucking second_ – that I would let anything happen to you?"

"No, but—"

"No." I kissed her again. "Have you forgotten what I told you from the beginning? That nothing that happened that night was your fault? Hmm?" I confirmed, making sure she nodded before going on. "Bad luck? Unfortunate circumstances? Abso-fucking-lutely. But not your fault, baby."

"I know, but—"

"You know, but you're still scared," I finished for her, and she didn't have to answer. Her pleading gaze said everything. "Let me show you. Let me take you out, Bella. Just a few drinks somewhere safe, somewhere fun, no worries. I'll even take you into work and pick you up, just to keep you safe with me."

"Edward," she hedged, almost whining, which made me want to smile at how adorable it was, but I fought it.

"Bella, you can't let what happened to you control your life. I've done that same thing, and I almost let it fuck up the best thing that ever happened to me," I explained to her gently while caressing her cheekbones with my thumbs. "You'll miss out on too much, baby. Please, let me do this for you, for Alice. She wants to go."

"Just a couple drinks?" she asked, looking a little calmer.

"Well, if we don't get nachos, then Jasper will pout like a teenage girl with PMS."

She giggled. There it was, that sweet sparkle I loved in her.

Grinning, I sighed a little in relief. "Please?"

"And you'll take me in and pick me up?" she verified, toying with my hair that was now much shorter. I'd let my hair go way too long since Forks, so I'd finally gone last week to get it sheared down to something fucking manageable.

"I'll sit in the parking garage all damn day if it makes you feel better," I vowed, nodding fervently.

She smirked and rolled her eyes. "So not necessary," she muttered, making me chuckle. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod, biting her lip nervously. "We'll go." My smile must've been a mile wide, because she giggled again, cupping my face. "Why do you want to go so badly?"

"'Cause I'm tired of hiding you," I stated, kissing her lips roughly. "I'm tired of keeping this a secret. I'm ready to get out and show you off."

Her face softened to something so full of love that it was almost breathtaking. Her kiss was soft and gentle, but she pulled back too quickly.

"Then let me get dressed," she whispered against my lips. "We need to leave soon."

"Yes, ma'am," I told her, patting the side of her thigh. She stepped back, and I walked to her bedroom door to crack it open. "Jasper, we're going."

"Hot damn! You gotta try those fucking nachos, Bella! They're the best!" he called out from what sounded like the living room.

She laughed, shaking her head and diving back into the closet, saying, "I want to tell him no, just to see what happens."

I snorted, shaking my head. "That's my girl."

~oOo~

At five o'clock, I parked my car just outside the hospital door that Bella was due out any minute. I leaned against the passenger side door, finishing up a cigarette and then popping a piece of gum into my mouth. I'd all but quit, but sometimes, my nerves got the better of me. I wasn't so nervous about going out as much as I was worried as to how Bella would handle it.

I fucked around on my phone, keeping my sunglasses on. They hid the rolling of my eyes when a nurse eye-fucked me walking toward the parking garage, and they kept me from looking like a damn stalker when my eyes snapped up every time the doors whooshed open. I couldn't help it. I was ready to see my girl. It was her birthday – her _real_ fucking birthday – and I was pretty thankful that she'd been born. I'd spent most of the day trying to figure out what the hell to get her, knowing she wouldn't want any-damn-thing, and then spent the rest of the day tracking it down. I'd just barely gotten back to my place to get ready in time to pick her up.

The doors swished open, and I glanced up to see Bella walking out with some dude. He was a skinny little shit, wearing glasses and a lost puppy look on his face. All Urkel was missing were the suspenders and the pocket protector. But the geek made my girl laugh, which set my teeth on edge. I smirked at the placating smile she gave him. She was so fucking out of his league that it wasn't even funny, and her smile aimed my way when she caught sight of me was a thousand times more real and a hell of a lot bigger.

"No, I have a ride. Thank you," she called over her shoulder, leaving Urkel to watch her walk away from him.

I spat my gum off into the planter next to my car, standing up straight and opening my arms as Bella walked to me. I kissed her lips shamelessly, smiling at her giggle.

"Want to piss on my leg, too?" she asked, raising a dangerous, but amused eyebrow up at me.

"Don't tempt me," I growled dramatically against her lips. "Who's the...your friend?"

"He works in my office," she sighed, shaking her head when I waited for a name. "His name is Martin."

I snorted. "Of course it is." I kissed her again, glancing up to see Martin looking pretty down. "He's crushed, you know."

"Yeah, I've been deflecting him all day. Welcome to what I attracted in high school, Edward," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Chuckling, I opened the car door. "You know why?" I asked her, waiting until she was buckled in and she'd shaken her head no. "Because your beautiful brain probably intimidated the shit out of the dumb jocks, baby." Alice had told me Bella was pretty damn focused in high school, not to mention shy, so I could well imagine that she had a shit-ton of admirers from afar.

She smiled, blushing, and shook her head, but I closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. I started the car and pulled out of the hospital. The place that Jasper and I had agreed to meet wasn't far. In fact, we pulled into another parking lot not twenty minutes later, and a part of me wished it was a longer drive, simply because I was enjoying Bella's excitable voice telling me about her day.

Turning to Bella, I stopped her before she got out. "Before we go in, I wanna make sure you're okay with this. I want you to have a good time, but I don't wanna force you."

Her nose wrinkled. "It's stupid to avoid this, Edward. I know. It's something I used to enjoy doing. Just a few drinks with Alice after work. You were right in reminding me."

I studied her face, making sure she wasn't just saying that, but I saw her determination as she glanced up at the loud building in front of us.

"Good," I sighed, kissing her, and then reached into the back seat. "This is also for before we go in," I told her, setting a gift bag into her lap. "Happy birthday, baby."

Thank fuck for gift bags, because I couldn't wrap presents for shit. Bella, though, treated it with care as she reached inside. I'd gotten her three things, even though two were silly. She giggled at the mug that said, "World's Hottest Accountant," and even more at the mouse pad I'd rolled up and stuck inside. It was designed to look like a rock T-shirt or a tatt, saying "Accountant: Rock-n-Roll Worldwide Tour."

The last thing, and the one I'd had a bitch of a time finding, fell out into her lap. She cracked open the little black velvet box, gasping at what was inside.

"It's the same as your tattoo," she whispered, lightly touching the trinity knot ring, but inside was a heart, and I smiled when she just...got it.

When she glanced up at me, her eyes were a little watery, but I kissed her lips. "I feel you trace mine, baby. And I figured...I'm not the only one starting over here," I explained softly. "Life, death, rebirth."

"I love it. Thank you, Edward," she said with a sweet grin as she put it on. It was too big for the ring finger of her right hand, but it fit perfectly on her middle one. "There," she sang, which made me chuckle. "And the heart?"

Nervously, I looked from the ring to her. "Um...that's mine."

Her face softened warmly at that admission from me, and she smiled. "Then I promise to take care of it."

"You've done an amazing fucking job so far," I murmured, jerking my chin toward the bar. "You ready? Alice and Jasper are already here."

She nodded, setting her things down onto the floorboard of the car. "Yeah, definitely."

~oOo~

"So..." Bella kissed my lips, smelling and tasting deliciously like the fruity drink she'd ordered at the bar, with a hint of alcohol. "What _are_ we doing Saturday?" she asked, and not for the first time that night.

Chuckling, I shook my head, guiding her into her bedroom and shutting the door. "It's a surprise, B. And I'm not drunk, so this won't work."

"Damn it," she huffed as she fell down onto the side of the bed, which only made me laugh a little harder.

Bella wasn't drunk, either, but she'd had enough to take the edge off. Jasper and I had nursed a couple of beers with two ginormous orders of those nachos he couldn't live without. We wanted to still be able to drive and let the girls relax. And since Mr. Jack Daniels and I were no longer on speaking terms, it was easy to simply sip a beer. Eyeing her right then, I saw that she was just as maintained as usual, only with a lazier smile on her face, and I realized that she'd consumed just about the same amount of alcohol tonight as the night of the murder. And she was still sharp as a tack, because she wasn't giving up on wheedling information out of me.

"Edward," she sighed, looking up at me through those long, dark eyelashes. "At least give me a hint. I mean, a girl should know how to dress for these things."

Fuck, I loved her. Grinning, I shook my head, but I conceded to that request. She was right. So I walked into her closet, found what I was looking for, and brought it out on the tip of my finger.

"This, B. You'll need this," I said, swinging her black leather jacket on the hanger. "For safety." I raised an eyebrow up at her.

It took a second, but she got it. "Oh shit. We're going on your bike?"

"Yes, and that's all you're getting, beautiful," I told her, putting the jacket back in the closet and coming to sit next to her. "You're mine all damn day."

She giggled, crawling up into my lap, and kissed me sweetly. She held my face in her hands and said, "I had fun tonight. Thank you for making me go."

"Me, too, but I didn't _make_ you do anything. That was all you," I told her, turning to kiss the inside of her wrist and breathing in the sweet smell of her warm skin. I could feel the ring I'd given her against my cheek, and something about marking her that way made me lean in and kiss her. Hard.

The whole night had been just fucking perfect, even though Bella had been tentative at the start. She'd nursed a beer at first, but as the night wore on, she and Alice had both ordered something a touch stronger. Mixing it with food, a couple rounds of pool, and some dancing, and they'd hardly been buzzed. But they'd had a good time. The best part was knowing we didn't have to hide how we felt in public and that I could claim her as mine in front of every male eye in the place. And there had been plenty that had eye-fucked her, not that I could blame them.

Bella's body moved slowly, languidly against mine as we kissed, which only reminded my dick what a temptress she'd been on the dance floor. Alice may have been the professional dancer, but Bella knew how to move. Slow dances had barely left any space between us, but faster ones had been heaven and hell all mixed together, with that tight little body grinding against me. And dancing with Bella was better than I'd ever imagined, better than any dancing I'd done before.

It was that last thought – the memory of the woman just before I'd taken the girls' WitSec case, the one whose name I could never remember – that made me pull back and just take in her gorgeous face. "I want you to meet the rest of my family, Bella."

She grinned, tilting her head at me. "I know. Emmett was great."

"This Sunday. Will you?" I urged, knowing she thought I wasn't ready, but I was. I was so fucking ready.

She smiled, kissed my lips, and whispered, "Absolutely."

~oOo~

The rumble of the bike's engine echoed loudly through the trees of the park. We passed by families, couples, and groups of kids on our way to a closer parking spot as evening started to settle around us. Riding a bike sometimes had its privileges, but it was the warm, strong arms wrapped around my middle and the sexy thighs on the outside of mine that made the whole fucking day worth it.

I'd shown Bella just about the entire city while on that bike. We'd ridden by my office, Emmett's station, the Space Needle, and about a billion other places. Despite the fact that Bella rarely drank coffee, she'd insisted on a cup from the original Starbucks in Pike Place Market, which had led to walking around for hours, eating when we got hungry, and merely enjoying a rare sunny summer day. And that had been my plan all along – to simply show her off and show her around. She'd soaked it up like a sponge, with a sweet smile and several kisses, barely letting go of my hand all damn day.

I pulled into a small sliver of a parking spot up close, shutting the engine off and dismounting. Turning to face her, I tugged off my helmet at the same time she did. Chocolate waves of windblown curls fell down around her face and over her shoulders.

She was dressed to absolute distraction, and it wasn't like it was anything too revealing. Wearing tight, light-colored jeans, a silky black shirt, and that black leather jacket I'd pulled out of her closet, she looked just...sexy, especially when her cheeks maintained a happy glow. But the wicked smile on her face was the fucking best.

"You like riding," I guessed with a chuckle, helping her off the bike.

"It's fun – a little scary sometimes, but fun," she responded with a grin, setting the helmet down on the seat.

Smiling, I said, "Well, that might be the simplest reason most people ride. C'mon, silly girl."

"Why are we here?" she asked, taking my hand and letting me lead her through the throngs of people.

I smiled back at her. "You'll see soon, but you should know music is a big part of Seattle. Lots of bands started here."

Her eyebrows shot up, and once we'd gotten farther inside the park and the small stage of the outdoor concert loomed closer, she smiled, coming to a stop.

"Baby, we can get closer," I told her, tugging her hand.

She smiled softly, surveying the whole setup, but shook her head. "I don't need to be up front, Edward. Can't we just...I mean, we've been walking all day."

Nodding, I saw what she was getting at, so I guided her to a small hill off to the side, next to a few other couples that were of the same mindset. Removing my jacket, I placed it on the grass, pulling her down in front me between my legs.

Wrapping my arms around her, I asked, "Like this?"

She nodded, turning a little. "Who's here?"

Shrugging, I shook my head. "Some unknowns. New bands. But one I've seen at a club on the other side of town. They're good. These shows are always good, though. You never know what kind of music you'll hear."

Bella's finger toyed with a fray that was starting in the knee of my old jeans, but she leaned back against my chest, sighing contentedly, which made me smile and kiss the side of her neck.

She turned and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Edward, for today."

"We're not done." I chuckled, nuzzling her ear.

"I know, but I've had an amazing time with you," she whispered shyly. "Have you ever done this? The whole-day date thing?"

"Uh...no." I shook my head, looking off across the field as some movement on stage caught my eye. "No, Bella, you're definitely the first I've done this with." I met her warm gaze again. "And you're the only girl ever to ride my bike with me – aside from Al's little girl."

My girl fucking beamed at that shit, which made me chuckle, pick up her hand, and kiss the ring I'd given her for her birthday.

"Lots of firsts today, then," she stated gently, biting that sweet bottom lip of hers. "And another tomorrow."

I grimaced a little, snickering at her needless nervous expression. "My family will love you, Bella. They'll welcome you in simply because you're important to me. And don't worry. Jasper's bringing Alice, _and_ Uncle Al will be there to take the pressure off. It'll be a full house. My mother will be in fucking heaven."

She giggled, pressing her lips to mine as the music started on the stage. "I love you."

"Love _you_, beautiful," I countered, and we turned our attention back to the stage.

Today had been a fuck-awesome day. We'd practiced her new backstory with a few strangers as we'd seen the city, we'd laughed and played all damn day, and we'd ended up at an outdoor concert I hadn't attended in years – the last time being with Jasper when we'd first transferred to the Seattle office. I was really fucking looking forward to finally introducing Bella to my family, and I hadn't been lying when I'd told her they would love her. Hell, I was pretty sure my dad was already there, and he'd only mentioned seeing her in passing at the hospital once or twice.

But as the music truly kicked in around us, I realized that I'd be going back to work soon, and that would mean even bigger adjustments – less time together and possible dangerous details. Shoving the reality of that out of my head for the moment, I pulled Bella closer. I wasn't letting anything ruin this day.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Someone asked what the future hurdles could possibly be... Two were just mentioned: meeting the family, and the boys going back to work. Those are big steps and serious adjustments. There are a couple more, but you'll see. ;) And I'm sorry for the destruction of any ovaries due to Uncle Edward's surprise babysitting duties. LOL He's way too sweet to resist sometimes.**

**Pictures of all of Bella's birthday gifts—in addition to ones we teased on Twitter/Facebook, like Emmett and Ladybug, Bella's ring, and her date outfit—are on my blog and Jen's site. You'll find the links to them both on our profile. The ring is pretty, but I freaking love the mousepad. LOL**

**Okay, only one fic rec from me today. I finished _My Power_ by PrincessRachael. It's the sequel to _My Mate_. (My apologies for misspelling her name last post.) But it's just as good, if not better, than the first fic. In fact, it was one of those stories that made me nervous, that made me keep reading until I found out just what would happen next. Again, it's vamp, sexy lemons, and action – an awesome combo for me, personally. That's it for now, since I'm currently helping someone out and not reading anything new at the moment. *side-eyes Jen* ;)**

**We'll see you guys again on Sunday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N #1: You guys and your theories and speculations crack us up. We love you for it! Thank you again for all the love. We read each and every one of them, and we're so glad you're still enjoying it!**

**Note: Someone asked in a review about whether or not a single person who enters into WitSec is allowed to tell about their past and new identity if they meet someone and fall in love. From everything we can tell, they are. But ya know, we only know what we've read online, so take it with a grain of salt. ;)**

**Now, enjoy the chapter, and see Deb (& me) at the bottom! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 30**

**Bella POV**

I tugged on the bottom of my sweater and then straightened my skirt...again. I was restless and fidgety and couldn't sit still, no matter how much Edward tried to convince me that it was going to be okay.

He reached over and laid his hand on mine, settling them on my thigh. "Baby, it's gonna go fine. They're gonna fucking love you. I've told you that."

Shrugging, I said, "I know. But this is _so big_, ya know?"

The first time meeting the parents? Yeah, it was huge. I'd been nervous ever since Edward had brought it up after getting home from the bar Thursday night, but until today, I'd played ostrich and buried my head in the sand. I'd even been able to put off thinking too hard about it Saturday because of our date, but today, Alice had cornered me first thing – well, not first thing, because that had been waking to Edward's head between my thighs – to tell me we were going shopping.

"I repeat, beautiful, they're gonna love you. So chill, okay? If you bite at that lip any more, you're gonna make it bleed, and while red lips look...fuck hot on you, it's not so sexy when it's not lipstick."

I made a conscious effort to release my abused lip I'd been worrying between my teeth and tried to relax. "You think the gifts are okay?" I asked, using my free hand to point to the back seat.

Using the list Alice and I had made right after Edward's Skype session with his family and new niece, we'd gone out and found several outfits for Emma. After seeing her for the first time myself on Monday, I knew they would be perfect, but I was worried Rose wouldn't like them. We'd also gotten a bottle of wine – Edward had assured me it was one of his parents' favorite kinds – and Alice was stopping by on her way to the Cullens' house with Jasper and picking up some fresh flowers.

"B, they're great, I promise. My mother's gonna adore them, and Rose... Well, she may groan about it because it gives me even more of a reason to call her Ladybug, but she'll love 'em too. I'm not worried about that. What I _am_ worried about is her having enough food. It's gonna be a packed house."

I gasped, turning in my seat as much as my seat belt would allow. "Please tell me you told her I was coming! Edward Cullen, springing company on your mother is not—"

His laugh rang through the car, relaxing me more than anything else had. "Of course I fucking told her, baby. I knew you'd kill me if I didn't, but really, it's going to be a packed house. I had to tell her, or there wouldn't be enough food."

Blowing out a breath, I nodded. "Okay, good."

Edward brought my hand up to his lips as he slowed to a stop at a red light. "Seriously, Bella," he huffed. "There's no need to be nervous. You're smart, beautiful, well-educated, funny...and you put up with my cranky ass. They're gonna love you for that fact alone. You already met Emmett, Dad's seen you at the hospital a few times, and my mom's been dying to meet you, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

I hummed to show I'd heard him, even if I didn't fully believe him, and went back to staring out the window at the passing scenery.

Five minutes later, Edward was turning the Audi, which we'd brought in deference to misty rain outside, into the driveway of a three-story turn-of-the-century house with a roof that looked almost like a flat Chinese pagoda. There was a large front porch wrapping around one side of the house, and the second floor included a deck that was just as large. The front porch and ground floor were done in red brick, while the rest of the house was painted a light gray, with a darker trim.

"It's beautiful," I sighed, butterflies swarming in my stomach once again.

He made a noise of agreement. "My mom's pretty happy with it. Being an interior designer, she mostly focused on the inside, but she made a lot of changes outside, too." He pointed to an older man shuffling along the sidewalk, a little dog on a leash trotting along beside him and sniffing at the grass. "The tree branch I had to clear out of the driveway by the garage in back? Belonged to old Mr. Dobson."

I giggled when the man glared at Edward as he stepped out of the car, calling out a cheerful hello.

"He needs to get laid," Edward whispered playfully as he opened my door for me and helped me out.

Smirking, I said, "Maybe I should set him up with Betty?"

"Hell no," he grumbled, shaking his head. "She's way too good for him, the cranky bastard."

I laughed, leaning in to grab the gift bag and bottle of wine just as Jasper pulled in behind us. When I straightened up, I looked around again and noticed a familiar car parked at the curb. "Hey, isn't that Al's car?"

Edward nodded, closing the back door. "Mmhmm. Told you it was gonna be a packed house, baby." He took the wine so I had a hand free, and then once I'd straightened my skirt and sweater, he laced his fingers through mine. "Come on, B. I can guaran-damn-tee you Mom's got her nose pressed to the glass, spying on us."

I took a deep breath, catching Alice's eye as they stepped up beside us and smiling when she gave me a nervous smile of her own.

The front door opened when we were halfway up the steps to the porch, and Mrs. Cullen stepped out. She was beaming and looked so much like her son at the moment that it took my breath away. I'd noticed the resemblance in the pictures I'd seen, of course, but there, live and in person, they were that much easier to spot. They had nearly identical color hair, although hers was long and beautifully curled. Her skin was the same light tone as Edward's, and while their eyes were different, his smile was all hers.

"Edward!" she called, moving out to us as we stepped onto the porch. Then her eyes lit on me and her smile widened. "And that makes you Bella. You're just as pretty as my husband and son said you were." She pulled me into an awkward hug, given that I hadn't released my death grip on Edward's hand.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," I said, giving her a shaky smile as I stepped back.

She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "None of that Mrs. Cullen stuff. That was my mother-in-law. Call me Esme, please."

"Esme," I agreed, nodding.

"Mom," Edward interrupted before she could speak again. "This is Bella's sister, Alice."

Esme's eyes cut to Alice and Jasper, who were standing just to our right, and she smiled, pulling Alice into a hug as well. "It's good to meet you, Alice," she said, releasing her and turning to Jasper. "And you, young man... Where've you been hiding since you boys got back into town?"

Edward interrupted again before Jasper could reply. "Ma, come on," he teased. "May we come in, or are you gonna make us eat out on the porch?"

Esme laughed, stepping back. "Sorry, sweetheart. Come on in. Everyone's in the living room. Maybe you can calm Emma down. Your father and I are having no luck."

"Where are Rose and Emmett?" Edward asked, ushering me in with a hand on my lower back, and that was when I finally heard the whimpering cries of an upset baby who was not being soothed.

"We offered to watch the baby for the afternoon so they could go to the movies. They haven't been out much since she was born," Esme explained, leading us into the living room.

Edward's father was standing with the baby in front of the window, rocking her back and forth. He smiled and said, "Hey, son. Come get your niece and see if she'll be happy with Uncle Edward, huh? She's not too fond of Grandpa right now."

Edward looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I squeezed his hand and smiled, reaching for the wine.

"Go, Edward. You know you wanna."

He grinned and nodded. "Make the introductions," he said to Jasper before moving to take Emma from his dad.

When Carlisle walked up, he put an arm around Esme's waist and smiled. "No need for introductions, Jasper. I recognize this one from the hospital, so that must make you Bella, and that means you're Alice," he said, looking to my sister.

"Yes, sir," we echoed.

"It's good to finally meet you, Dr. Cullen. I've seen you around the hospital a few times," I said.

He nodded. "Please, call me Carlisle. We're far from formal around here."

I smiled and held out the wine to him as Alice handed Esme the flowers. "These are for you. Thank you so much for having us over."

Carlisle looked at the bottle and nodded. "This is our favorite. Thank you, Bella. Alice."

"These are beautiful, girls. Thank you," Esme said, turning the vase to look at the different flowers. Alice had included roses, lilies, and a few other ones I didn't recognize in a short, rectangular glass vase. They were a vibrant mix of orange, yellow, white, and green, and there was even a pop of purple here and there.

We all turned when Edward began cooing to Emma.

"Come on, Ladybug," he crooned softly. "Grandpa not doin' it for you, huh? Did you need Uncle Edward? Of course you did." Emma's whimpering died away as she looked up at him, her little fist waving and smacking his chin, making him chuckle. "See? It's not so bad, is it?"

His smile as he looked down at her just about melted my heart, and I definitely heard Esme sigh from beside me.

"Well, would you look at that," Al suddenly announced from behind me. "All it took for her to be happy was Uncle Edward."

I turned and smiled. "Hi, Al," Alice and I echoed, making him grin.

"Hello, ladies. It's good to see you again."

"Oh, that's right," Esme said, raising an eyebrow when she turned back to Edward. "I forgot. Al's already met them."

Edward shrugged apologetically. "We were over at their house when Al called, needing to see us about something. They said he could come there so we didn't have to go out."

Esme huffed. "That's all right, son. First Al, then Emmett. A mother's the last person to meet her son's new girlfriend. Nothing upsetting about that." She turned her head and winked at me, and I knew she wasn't really upset.

Moving to stand beside her, Edward brushed her cheek with a kiss and then bumped her hip with his. "You met her before Rose. That's something, right?"

With a put-upon sigh, Esme said, "I suppose that'll have to do." Then she smiled and patted his cheek – hard – before turning back to us. "Now, everybody have a seat. Dinner will be ready as soon as Emmett and Rose get here."

As if she'd timed it that way on purpose, there was a knock on the door, and then it opened. I turned and saw Rose step inside, followed by Emmett. She was a gorgeous blonde and didn't look at all like she'd just had a baby a month before.

"See, Em," she grumbled, elbowing him lightly. "I told you they'd beat us here. You couldn't have just taken the interstate like I suggested?" Turning back to us, she smiled and said, "You must be Bella and Alice. It's good to finally meet you."

I smiled, nodding. "It's good to meet you, too," I said, and then Alice echoed my greeting.

Any further conversation was cut off as Esme said, "Good. Everyone grab a seat at the table. Carlisle, would you help me in the kitchen?"

"Yes, dear," he said, smiling before turning back to the group. Holding up the wine we'd brought, he asked, "Would anyone like wine?"

Everyone but Emmett raised their hands.

"I'll grab a beer, Dad, thanks." He followed Carlisle into the kitchen.

Edward handed the baby to Rose, kissing both her cheek and the top of Emma's head before making his way to me. "How ya holdin' up, beautiful?" he murmured, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair back behind my ear.

I gave him a tentative smile. "Um, okay. Your mom's not really mad, right?"

He chuckled low and shook his head. "Nah. She was just yankin' my chain."

Nodding, I let out a breath and then held up the gift bag, asking, "Where should I put this?"

Edward directed me to the couch, where I set the bag, and then with his warm palm on my lower back, he steered me to the dining room, where the large table was set for nine. Emma was already rocking slowly in a swing behind Emmett and Rose on the far side, along with Al, and Jasper was seated on one end on the other side with Alice beside him. Edward pulled out the chair beside her and held it for me, helping me scoot it forward once I was set. Trailing his fingers lightly across my shoulder and giving my neck a squeeze, he moved to sit in the seat beside mine.

Carlisle came into the dining room with the bottle of Chardonnay, now missing the cork, and a bowl of steamed red potatoes, which he set in the middle of the table before reaching for one of the wine glasses.

"I hope salmon's okay with everyone," Esme said as she came into the room carrying a platter filled with the flaky, pink fish in one hand and a bowl of sautéed mixed mushrooms in the other. "Edward assured me both you girls liked fish."

She looked unsure, so I quickly said, "We do. It looks delicious, Esme."

Beaming, she replied, "Thank you, sweetheart," before taking her seat beside Edward. Once Carlisle had poured all the wine, she said, "Dig in, everyone. Edward, take a piece of fish and pass it to Bella. We'll go around the table that way."

Conversation flowed easily as we began to eat. The food tasted as good as it looked and smelled, and I was comfortable and relaxed as I listened to Emmett tell about a guy they'd brought in to the station who was so high that he was sure he was being hunted by aliens at that very moment.

Esme took a sip of wine and looked over at me. "Bella, Alice, tell us a little about yourselves. All I know is you're new in town, and Bella, you work in the hospital business office."

After I explained that I had a degree in accounting and had worked mainly on patient accounts so far, Alice told them about her job at ADI.

"A dancer?" Esme nodded, smiling. "I can see that. Where did you move from?"

Alice looked at me to answer, so I explained the story about moving to Seattle from California a while after we graduated from college.

"And your parents? Do they live in California still?"

Biting my lip, I took a deep breath. This was the hardest part of our new history, and it was still hard to lie about. Edward's hand settling on my thigh gave me the strength to finally answer.

When I told them about our parents, there were gasps from everyone around the table but Al and Emmett, who were watching me with sympathy in their eyes.

"Oh, you poor little lambs," Esme murmured. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," Alice said, reaching over to squeeze my hand.

After a moment, Carlisle cleared his throat. "Well, I had an interesting case today."

I half-listened as Carlisle told his story, glad the spotlight was off me.

Edward leaned over and spoke low into my ear. "You did well, baby. You okay?"

I nodded.

"Good."

I leaned in to his kiss on my cheek before he settled back in his seat.

When I looked up, Esme and Rose were watching us with an almost-speculative expression on their faces, but it quickly cleared and they both smiled, turning their attention back to Carlisle.

~oOo~

After dinner, Carlisle volunteered to put away the food while everyone else relaxed in the living room.

It was a pretty room, decorated for comfort, not just style. There were two sofas, along with a couple of chairs. One was similar to a Queen Anne-style, a little more formal-looking, while the second had a lot more padding, was bigger overall, and was very comfortable-looking. That was the one Al promptly sat in, like he'd done it an untold number of times before. Edward led me to the couch I'd left the gift bag on and pulled me down beside him when he sat. Alice and Jasper sat on the other couch, while Esme joined Edward and me, leaving Carlisle in the other chair.

Once Rose and Emmett, who was holding a sleeping Emma, had taken their seats beside Alice and Jasper, I held out the gift bag.

"Alice and I couldn't resist when we found these..." I let my voice trail off, nervous about her reaction.

Rose pulled out the tissue paper and groaned playfully. "Not you, too?" she huffed, glaring at Edward before grinning. One by one, she held up the ladybug-themed clothing.

"I got the sleeper a little big," I said, motioning to the adorable pink outfit. "I thought it might be good when the weather started cooling off some."

She nodded, passing the clothes over for Esme to see. "That's perfect," Rose said, smiling. "Thank you both very much, even if it does just give Uncle Edward more reason to call her that nickname."

He just grinned, earning an exaggerated eyeroll from Rose before she winked at me.

~oOo~

Two hours later, Emmett looked at the clock. "We'd better go, Rosie. Time to get little one in bed."

"Yeah, we should go, too," Edward said, looking to me and then to Jasper, who was nodding. "Bella and Alice have work in the morning."

Everyone stood, and Esme immediately turned to me.

"I'm so glad you could come tonight," she said, pulling me into a tight hug. Her voice was quiet, just for my ears, as she continued. "You're so good for Edward, Bella. I haven't seen him this happy in..." She huffed, shaking her head. "Anyway, come back anytime, sweetheart, with or without Edward. You and Alice are always welcome."

I smiled, nodding. "Thanks. He...He makes me happy, too."

She squeezed me one more time and then moved away to take Alice into her arms, murmuring something too low for me to hear.

Emmett pulled me into a big bear hug, patting my back. "Good to see you again, Bella-boo."

"Thanks, Emmett. You, too," I said, laughing.

Rose laughed. "Let her go, you big oaf. You're squeezing her to death."

When he released me, she pulled me into a much more gentle hug herself. "Thanks again for the clothes for Emma. Call me sometime, and we'll grab some coffee or lunch one weekend. I'll tell you all the good stories about Edward growing up." She grinned as Edward scoffed in the background. "He's got my number."

Laughing, I nodded. "I will."

After saying an easy goodbye to Al and Carlisle and promising to return soon, I let Edward guide me out the door and to the car. He kissed me soundly before opening my door, leaving me breathless for a moment as I tried to buckle my seat belt.

As soon as Alice and Jasper backed out of the drive, Edward followed.

"That went well," he said, reaching over to take my hand.

I smiled, leaning my head back against the seat. "It did. I really liked your family, Edward," I said softly.

His thumb swept across the back of my hand, igniting all the nerve endings and making me hyper-aware of his touch.

"They liked you, too. Mom threatened me when she hugged me. Said if I didn't bring you back, there would be hell to pay." He smirked, which I could barely make out in the dark interior of the car, lit up only by the lights on the dash and the lights from passing cars and businesses.

Laughing, I shook my head. "No hell, I promise. I really enjoyed myself, and your parents and sister couldn't have been any sweeter. I'll go anytime you want me there."

Edward squeezed my hand, his voice soft, but firm as he said, "Always, Bella."

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"That's it! I'm done. I'm better at this on the damn Wii," Bella huffed, spinning away from the bowling lane as her ball plunked heavily into the gutter.

Chucking, I set my beer down and walked to her as Alice and Jasper laughed softly. "No, you're not quitting," I told her, waiting until her ball came back. "Get your ball, and let's go," I ordered with a laugh, pointing to the lightest damn ball we'd been able to find. When her deadpanned face gazed up at me, I grinned. "Don't give me any shit. C'mon."

She snorted a soft laugh, sighed in acquiescence, and picked up the ball, situating her fingers into the holes. "This goes back to ball control..."

Laughing, I shook my head. "No, sweetheart. Your _control_ is just fine. Trust me, I know. But your aim is off." I guided her to the end of our lane as she laughed at me and straightened her shoulders. "You're letting go too soon, and you're not using the marks on the floor. Look." I pointed to the arrows in the wood. "They're down there to help you."

It was a Friday night, so the place was pretty busy. It had been a couple of weeks since we'd started going out in public as true couples – since the girls' birthday. However, this was only the second double date, because Jasper and I were starting back to work the coming Monday, so we all wanted to take the weekend to just have a good time. Bowling was somehow on the top of the list, because Bella was determined to do things that Marie never did.

"Ed, she's bending her arm," Jasper called out from behind us as I lined up behind Bella.

"He needs to shut the hell up," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "I know," I growled over my shoulder. "I'm getting to that, asshat. Will you shut up? She's never bowled before!"

"I'm just sayin'," Jasper said with a shameless grin when I flipped him a middle finger down by my leg so as not to give the bird to every kid in the place.

Both girls giggled at us, but they always did when we barked at one another.

Placing my hand underneath the ball that she was holding to her chest, I whispered in her ear, "He's right, though, beautiful. You need to keep this arm straight when you bring it back _and _when you let go."

"'Kay," she said, sounding unsure.

Guiding the arm down to her side as she held the ball, I slid my fingers down her arm to her wrist. "Keep it straight, aim for the middle notch on the floor, and follow through, okay?" I pulled her arm back, then slowly pushed it forward, saying, "And let go...here." She glanced over her shoulder at me, and I smiled. "You can do this. It's not fucking rocket science. Though, _that _you probably could do."

Grinning, she shook her head at me and readied herself in front of the lane. I stepped away, and she swung back, then forward, letting go with some pretty good strength behind it. The ball thumped to the wood floor and careened down the lane, taking just about every pin down in its path.

"Yes!" she squealed proudly, and I caught her up in her excitement.

"She left a seven-ten split," Jasper murmured.

Bella looked at him and then to me. "What's that mean?"

"It's a problem for another turn," I said with a chuckle, setting her back down onto her feet and kissing her forehead. "It's Alice's go."

Bella and I sat down next to Jasper and sipped our beers as Alice got ready to bowl. She'd bowled before, something that seemed to be pretty popular when they were in high school in Florida, but Bella had never gone with her. Just as she let go of the ball, my phone went off in my pocket.

Frowning at the name, I grunted, "Cullen."

"Are the girls and Whitlock with you?" Al asked, sounding breathless and rushed.

"Yes, sir," I said tentatively, glancing over at Jasper, where a somber expression had taken over his face. "What's up, Al? I thought we weren't due back to work till Monday."

"You aren't," he sighed wearily. "I need to see all four of you. ASAP."

My heart sank to my stomach instantly, and I gripped my hair. "Okay. What about? Tell me this shit isn't compromised, Uncle Al..." My voice trailed off, but the three people around me had gone white as ghosts.

"No! Definitely not."

I sighed in relief as I shook my head at Bella and Alice.

"How quickly can you get to the girls' house?" he asked, sounding like he was already getting into his car.

"Uh...fifteen? Twenty?" I guessed, kicking out of my rental shoes, and everyone started to follow suit.

"Good."

"We'll meet you there," I told him, but he'd already hung up. I looked at my phone and then back up at everyone around me. "We gotta go."

We turned our shoes back in, put on our old ones, and were in my car within five minutes. I tried to tell them what Al had said, but there wasn't much to elaborate. And I knew every last one of us were allowing our imaginations to get away with us.

By the time I practically screeched into Bella's driveway, Al was already there, parked on the street. He was on his phone, pacing along the sidewalk and speaking in hushed tones. In his hand was his laptop.

"Okay, okay, just keep me posted," he grumbled, ending his call and looking up at all of us. "Don't panic. I'm sorry if I worried you, but this wasn't something I could just state over the phone. Let's talk, okay?"

It was eerily quiet as we walked into the house, gathering around the girls' dining room table.

Bella's hand shook in mine, but I leaned to her ear, whispering, "No matter what he says, I've got you. I'm right here. Understand?" She nodded and leaned into the kiss I pressed to the side of her head, and I couldn't help but tack on, "I love you."

That seemed to calm her down a bit. We weren't the only ones panicking. Jasper and Alice were deep into an almost silent conversation as Al set up his computer at the head of the table. He closed the screen just low enough that he could gaze at all of us, but he smiled.

"Relax. Just wait, okay?" he soothed us.

"Will you just fucking spit it out, Al?" I snapped, thinking now was the time I could probably get away with punching him in the face.

He glanced between the girls, his face warming to something a bit more sympathetic. "I have two pieces of information for you that haven't even gone public yet. So what I say in this room can't leave this room. Are we clear?"

All of us answered in the affirmative in some way, so he went on.

He sniffed and looked to me. "A body identified as Demetri Polizzi was found in an abandoned warehouse in Queens this morning. Typical mob hit – two to the pump, one to the head. He'd been dead for...quite some time. Probably since the day I told you he was missing."

My eyebrows shot up, and I spun my gaze to Jasper, who looked quite pleased with that bit of news. Demetri had been the motherfucker that had almost gotten to us in Connecticut. He'd been on Caius Volturi's payroll and his strong man for decades.

I took a deep breath, clawing at my hair, and said, "That's good news, then."

Al nodded vehemently, smiling a little, but he turned to the girls. "This really is for my boys. You don't have to look if you don't want to, ladies."

He spun the computer around, and Jasper and I leaned in to see photos of a crime scene. Bella buried her face into my shirt, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Despite the decomposition of the body, I could tell by the long hair and heavy brow that it was Polizzi. Flipping through the photos, I saw that they'd found his ID, weapon, and phone on him, all marked as evidence. When I looked to Al, he was smiling again.

"We traced that weapon to the bullets in the Connecticut safe house and the van you left at the hangar. It also matched the fatal bullet in Tony Carmine – the gentleman that Bella so bravely fought off in the girls' New York apartment."

Bella's head snapped up, and she gasped a little, but I soothed her by massaging the back of her neck.

"I told you that you didn't kill him, baby," I whispered in her ear, and she nodded a little. Looking to Al, I said, "You said two pieces of news..."

He nodded, turning his computer around so that he could quickly type on it. He stopped and gazed over at me, sniffing once. "Attica has been on lockdown for the last twenty-four hours," he stated, which caused my eyebrows to raise up. "Caius Volturi was attacked in the yard by several inmates yesterday. It was an ambush attack. From what the security cameras and the guards that witnessed it can tell us, it was several lower members of his own family that got to him." He paused for a moment. "He died this morning in the infirmary due to his injuries. I believe severe blood loss was the cause of death, but the man took one helluva beatin'."

"Holy fuck," Jasper murmured slowly, shaking his head.

Al looked to the girls. "Again, ladies, I need to show this to the boys, so if you don't want to see, I suggest you turn away."

Alice did as she was told, but Bella stayed firm, her eyes locking onto the photo on the screen. My eyes took in the man that had once intimidated us all, had threatened and hunted us, and had called in every goon he knew just to kill the two girls at the table. It was the same fat, old, pompous motherfucker that had glared hate and violence toward my girl when she was on the stand, but he'd been beaten to a pulp. His face was a mess of bruises, blood, and cuts, and his hair was grayer than it had been in court. His fingers looked broken and misshapen, and I was pretty damn sure his collarbone was shattered.

The vibe in the room changed completely. Everyone sitting at that table was happy he was dead, but it was Bella that piped up first.

"Wh-What's that mean? For us?" she asked, looking to Al when he closed the laptop.

"Hang on, sweet one. Let me explain," he told her, reaching for her hand and squeezing it gently. "Right now, New York is in chaos. Marcus took over his brother's command, but..." He held up a finger. "We now know the reason." He got up and started to pace. "We've taken Felix Guardiano off the grid and put him in WitSec, but the very second Caius was attacked by his own people, we pulled Guardiano out and interviewed him." He braced his hands on the chair and looked around at all of us. "It would seem that Marcus Volturi had a son. A son with a promising future...in or outside the family. Just over fifteen years ago, Aro Volturi, who was the firstborn son and named after the founder of the Volturi crime family, had just graduated Harvard Law. He had no intentions of joining the family, and Marcus was okay with that. Caius, however, was not. Caius felt that Aro needed to uphold family tradition and proceeded to include his nephew in a few...well, not-so-legal things. It got Aro killed. He was only twenty-four.

"We think," he continued, holding up a finger. "We think that Caius had it done on purpose in order to maintain his command. He didn't want to share power, or hand it over should Aro change his mind, so he insured that he _couldn't_ take over. Ever. This has been a long time coming. It's a family full of jealousy and hopes of revenge." He smiled evilly. "The day Felix turned on Caius in court was the same day Marcus took control. Apparently, the two conspired against Caius in order to put him right where they wanted him: prison, where an attack would be inevitable. Felix's payment was allowing him to leave the family altogether and assume a new identity.

"Now," he said, wrinkling his nose, "you'll still have to stay who you are, stay under WitSec protection, due to the remaining straggling few of Caius's loyal soldiers, but because Marcus ordered a hit on his own brother, you're safe. Hell, you're probably under his protection, too, but he wouldn't know where to even begin looking for you. Anyone that was given the command to find you has turned up dead. And he's got enough on his plate dodging the authorities and dealing with the shift of power in New York, especially when this news goes public."

"We're safe," Alice breathed, looking to Bella, who looked like she was going to be sick, so I pulled her closer.

Kissing the top of her head, I locked gazes with my uncle. "When this goes public, he'll have made a pretty fucking big statement."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true. It'll mean everyone either shifts their loyalty to him, or they die." He grinned, shaking his head a little, and added, "Your buddy Ben seems to think that eventually, Marcus will dismantle the family altogether."

The room was so fucking quiet that the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock on the mantle. I rubbed Bella's arm gently, dropping kisses to the top of her head, but I pulled back and cupped her face when I felt the warm tears hit my shirt.

"Hey," I whispered, wiping the tears away. "Why are you crying, sweetheart?"

"It's over," she breathed back, locking gazes with me. "He's dead. He can't find us."

"Not that I would have let him touch you, but yes. You still have to maintain this identity, Bella," I told her firmly, worried that she'd want to go back, but it wasn't possible. "But he can't hurt you anymore."

"No, he can't," Al stated firmly, drawing all of our attention back to him. "If the wrong person sees you, then you could be used against Marcus, but at the rate he's going, they'll all be dead before the year is out. And there's a part of me that wants to let him finish what he's started." He smiled warmly at both girls, who seemed to be in shock. "The imminent danger is over. You just have to stay vigilant as these identities, watch your backstory, and keep doing what you've been doing. As far as I see it, you'll live out the rest of your lives in Seattle..._if_ you choose to do that." He winked at them both.

Bella spun her gaze to me, her whole face lighting up, and I chuckled at her.

"You look okay with that," I teased, glancing over when Alice sniffled and nodded at the same time as her sister.

Bella bit her bottom lip and then kissed me. "Yeah, I'm okay with that."

~oOo~

Jasper tossed a few bills up front to the cab driver, and we all slipped out onto the sidewalk. I lit a quick smoke. No one wanted to be designated driver, not tonight. It had taken almost twenty-four hours for Al's news to truly sink in, even for Jasper and me. The ramifications of Volturi's death pretty much hit us full force that next morning when it went public.

The motherfucker was dead. He couldn't hunt down the girls anymore. And that shit was big. It meant no one was looking for them. It meant the girls would be able to live their new lives in peace. With us. It was that last thing that had us itching to get out of the house.

By the time we'd watched news coverage all fucking day – crime scene footage of Attica, interviews with Marcus Volturi as he tried to walk into his office, and media speculations as to what Caius's death meant to the crime family – we were all practically clawing out of our own skin to celebrate. And that was what had brought us to the bar in front of us.

The doors swung open, and music burst out into the night air. Barb's Bar was always pretty busy on a Saturday night.

"Why _this_ bar?" Bella asked with an amused tone and a raised eyebrow. She knew this was the bar I'd come to when I'd fucking drowned my dumb ass in Jack a few days after she'd told me she loved me.

Grinning, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It may look rough, but a lot of cops hang out here. Since we're all drinking, I want you somewhere that I know no one will fuck with you. _No one_ will touch you two if you're with us. Not here."

"Plus," Jasper piped up with a crooked smile, "Barb prides herself on a huge selection of on-tap beer and good food."

"So how'd you find this place?" Alice asked, looking between us as I finished up a cigarette.

I sighed. "I started coming here in college," I began, turning to Bella, who knew what that meant. "It wasn't always a cop hangout." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Randy grew up in this neighborhood, so he introduced me to this place. When I went away to training, they started cleaning up the neighborhood. Some of the same people still come in here, but the trouble, like Randy, is gone. In fact, Rose met Emmett here. She and I had come out for a drink to celebrate my being back in Seattle, along with Jazz, and Em, who was here celebrating his promotion to detective. That was all she wrote for those two. We were ignored the rest of the night." I smiled over at Jasper. At the time, I'd thought about setting him up with my sister, but they hadn't clicked that way.

The girls laughed a little. They'd absolutely fallen in love with my brother-in-law – though, the big goof was pretty easy to like. And just like I'd thought ages ago, they'd had a million things in common with my sister. But even more, they'd taken to my parents instantly, like they'd been starved for parental affection – which they had been.

I tossed my cigarette butt into the gutter, saying, "Ready?"

Jasper opened the door, and the smell of food, people, and beer hit us full force, but he turned to me with a chuckle. "Brace yourself."

"What?" Bella asked.

"Barb," we both said at the same time.

"You'll see," I told her, kissing her temple.

We wound our way to the bar, and the woman in question caught sight of us. Her smile was mischievous and wicked, but she came down toward us with her hands on her hips.

"Well, fucking double trouble is gracing my bar tonight," she rasped in her booming voice, reaching across to cup our faces. "Lookin' good, boys." She eyeballed me, smirking a little. "And you...you look a helluva lot better since the last time I saw you."

"I am," I stated with a nod.

"Good. Is this the reason?" she asked without shame, holding her hand out to Bella, who took it firmly.

"Barb, meet our girlfriends, Alice and Bella Swan," Jasper introduced, gesturing to each one.

Her eyebrows raised up high, but she smiled big. "Oh ho! Ladies, it's an honor. But if these two give you shit, come to me. I'll give you enough ammunition to keep their cute asses in line _for years_. Okay?"

Bella and Alice cracked up and said, "Okay."

"Excellent!" Barb said with a grin. "Now, what are ya havin'?"

With a round of beers ordered, we made our way to an open table in the corner. Jasper and I waved to a few people we knew and raised our mugs to toast nothing in particular.

"So, what dirt does Barb have on you two?" Alice asked, setting her drink down.

"Plenty," I answered with a laugh. "But we've got dirt, too. Look," I said, pointing to the big motherfucker at the end of the bar. "See the big guy...tatts, leather vest? That's Barb's boyfriend."

"And bouncer," Jasper added with a laugh. "But the guy behind the bar pouring drinks with her?"

"Also her boyfriend," we said at the same time, making the girls crack up.

"No shit?" Bella asked, spinning to gaze around the bar.

Leaning to her ear, I whispered, "And before you ask, yes, they know about each other. Barb says she's a big woman, so she needs more than one man to keep her happy..._at the same time._"

"Oh," my girl whispered, taking a sip of her beer, her eyes wide. "Okay, then. Whatever floats your boat."

I chuckled, kissing her temple as she eyed the three of them talking. "Personally, I try not to imagine it."

Bella laughed, kissing my lips briefly. "Fair enough, Edward."

~oOo~

The bar was still busy about an hour after we'd arrived. I pulled Bella to the dance floor when someone pumped the jukebox full of money, filling the air with slow, sappy love songs. She wrapped her arm around my neck, placing her hand on my chest. Her thumb swept slowly across my shirt, but what she was really doing was feeling the raised skin of my ink underneath. One of the individual bats of my newest tattoo had scarred for some reason once it had healed completely, causing a bit of a bump on the surface, but she loved it, claimed it, doted on it.

There was hardly any space between us as I wrapped my arms around her waist, my hands just barely cupping her ass. But my forehead pressed to hers as I lost myself in her.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, because she'd been damned quiet for the last few minutes. We weren't drunk. Not yet, anyway.

She smiled, brushing her lips across mine – top lip, bottom lip, each corner – all teasing, all sweet. "That you're going back to work Monday." She wrinkled her nose and bit down on that bottom lip of hers.

I sighed, lifting my head to press a long kiss to her forehead as I glanced around the bar before turning my attention back to her. "You're worried," I guessed, and she nodded a little. "About what? What about it scares you? What I do, or something else?"

"No, you're so good at what you do, Edward," she stated firmly with a fervent shake of her head. "I just...now that..." She breathed out a frustrated breath, looking up at me. "It seems we'll be okay here, and I just worry that... What if you get tired of me?"

Grinning, I hugged her closer, dropping a kiss to her lips, her cheek, and then her ear. "I could ask you that same question, you know?" I whispered, pulling back to see her face, but she rolled her eyes. "I love you," I stated simply and firmly, shrugging my shoulders. "I fucked up – a lot – with us in the beginning. I should've told you that the second I knew what I was feeling. But I didn't. There was so much against us at the time that I could barely see straight. I wasn't prepared for you, Bella, and I couldn't make promises then. But I _swear_ to you that I will be careful at work so that I can come back to you every fucking day, that I'm in this for the long haul, that even though the bastard's dead, I still would've followed you, had you had to move."

She smiled, though it looked like she was fighting tears. "I love you, and I'll miss having you free."

I dropped my forehead to hers again, continuing to sway us to the music. "Me, too. I'll just have to text you naughty shit all damn day."

She giggled, but I couldn't resist her any longer. I kissed her slowly, trying to seal my promise with every sweep of our lips, every light flicker of tongue. She was it for me. And as happy as I was that the pressure was off her, I'd meant it. I'd go wherever she went, because I knew I couldn't live without her.

We finally pulled apart when the song changed, but Bella's gazed focused on something over my shoulder.

"Who's Jasper talking to?"

I spun around to look, grinning at the newest addition to our table. I turned back to Bella, taking her hand. "Someone you need to meet, beautiful. Come on."

We walked up to the table, and wise, gray eyes met mine and then flickered to the girl holding my hand. Bella eyed the man's arms, the swirls of colors – some dark in meaning, some simply art. He was wearing a wife-beater and ragged jeans, his long hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Edward," Garrett greeted with a nod of his head, reaching for my hand and pulling me into a rough hug as Jasper tugged Alice to the dance floor. "This must be the famous and mysterious Bella," he said with a chuckle, holding out his hand to her, which she took.

"Bella, this is Garrett Michaels," I told her, snickering when her confused face morphed into a sweet, happy smile. "Garrett, Bella Swan."

"Nice to meet you," she told him. "I've heard so much about you."

Garrett raised an eyebrow at me and then turned back to her. "Swan... Well, there's one mystery down. And just seeing you solves the other one. You're every bit as beautiful as my boy said, so I can see how you'd spun him all around. No wonder he marked himself in your honor."

She blushed sweetly, which caused me to chuckle, but she thanked him.

"Pssh," he scoffed, waving it away. "You've set him free, Bella. He should be thanking you."

Chuckling, I shook my head at his all-knowing mannerism. "I do. Every damn day," I said, kissing her temple.

"Speaking of... How'd you heal?" he asked.

"Fine," I told him with a shrug of a shoulder.

"You left your shirt upstairs. Want it? And I can see how my work turned out. Got a minute?" he asked, picking up his old, worn-out denim jacket from the back of the stool.

"Oh, yeah," I sighed, shaking my head. I'd worn my button-down home over the fresh ink instead of pulling my undershirt back on. I turned to Bella, picking up her hand. "You wanna come, baby, or stay here with Jazz and Alice?"

"I'll go," she acquiesced, shrugging a little.

We told the other two where we were going and then followed Garrett to the building next door. Again, I chuckled to myself at his place – all clean and perfect and almost sterile in his tattoo parlor, but messy and cluttered and worn in his living space.

Garrett walked to the chair, picked up a white T-shirt that was draped over the back of it, and handed it to me, but Bella took it.

"I'll hold it. Go ahead," she told me, but she was already distracted by Garrett's art that was just about everywhere – in books, on the walls, scattered over every flat surface.

"Let's see how we did, Ed," Garrett instructed, gesturing for me to remove my shirt. Once I'd reached back and pulled it off, he stepped up to inspect his work. "Looks good. You scarred a bit, but I bet you did that in your sleep." He rubbed a thumb over the bat that was near my collarbone, his brow wrinkling a little.

"Probably," I agreed, but shrugged it off. "It doesn't matter to me. You wanna take a picture of it for your book and shit?"

He grinned. "You know me so well. Hold still." He walked over, grabbed his camera, and snapped a quick picture of just my chest. "Well, as long as you're okay with it – and Bella, since it was for her."

At the sound of her name, her head snapped up from the book she was flipping through. She smirked, her warm brown eyes raking over _her_ ink. "I love the meaning of it. But it's beautiful. Actually, all your work is stunning."

Garrett walked to her as I pulled my shirt back on. "Most people that I ink, they're marking themselves for a reason. Some cover up mental scars...others, physical ones. I have a young woman coming in tomorrow for her fourth session." He flipped the page of the book in Bella's hand. "She was in a car accident. Luckily, they were able to save her arm, but it's pretty scarred up. She's covering that."

I gazed over Bella's shoulder at the full sleeve of ink that was photographed in stages, from outline to color. The ink started at the girl's neck and traveled all the way to her wrist. It was tropical in theme – all swirls of flowers, butterflies, birds, and what looked like the start of a waterfall.

"Nice, Garrett," I muttered, because the progression showed how her scars no longer showed.

"It's her design," he told me. "She wanted beauty to cover ugly. Personally, the scars weren't that bad to me, but it's how someone sees themselves."

I nodded, knowing what that meant, but Bella piped up, drawing both of us her way.

"I want one," she gushed, making me chuckle.

"Baby, your skin is flawless," I argued, absolutely conflicted about her sudden declaration. Part of me wanted her left untouched, but there was another part that was turned on as fuck at the thought of her inked.

"She's never been marked?" Garrett asked, and I shook my head no, but he turned back to her. "What were you thinking, Bella?"

"The same as Edward's, but solid," she stated firmly.

"Where?" Garrett and I asked at the same time, because I couldn't help it. That was hot as fuck, but I could tell she was determined at this point.

She giggled at me. "My hip."

Garrett smirked, but backed away, looking to me. "I have time now." He gestured to his chair. "Have a seat."

She set the book in her hands back down onto his counter and settled into the chair.

Walking to her, I cupped her face. "Bella, you don't have to."

"Hang on, Ed," Garrett interrupted. "Maybe she does. You, of all people, understand that it's a personal experience. Bella," he started, holding up a small Dark Knight symbol about the size of my thumb. "This?"

"Yes."

"And what's it mean to you?" he asked her as he walked over to gather up his equipment.

She frowned, looking down at her hands for a moment and then to me. "If Edward's symbolizes that I set him free, then that one means _he_ put _me_ back together. Another silver lining..."

"Christ," I breathed, squeezing my eyes closed and pressing my lips to her forehead. There was that silver lining she was always fucking looking for, and my chest ached, knowing it was me. "Motherfuck, I love you," I whispered against her skin. "Beautiful, are you _absolutely sure_?" I asked her, pulling back to look her in the eye as I braced myself on the arms of the chair. "Baby, you can't take it back."

Her little chin jutted out in an almost-defiant manner. "Edward, I never want to take it back."

Our gazes stayed locked for a moment as Garrett puttered around us. Finally, I asked, "Where, Bella?"

She pointed to just below the waist of her jeans. "Here. Just for you."

Her giggle made me grin like a proud bastard, but I reached down to unbutton her jeans and then tugged them down just a little. Garrett may have been one of my oldest and most trustworthy friends, but he didn't get to see some things. My eyes narrowed and my dick twitched when I caught a glimpse of black and yellow, which made Bella laugh that much more. Deadly sexy thing was killing me.

"Focus, Edward," she ordered, sounding amused as all hell.

"Here," I whispered, rubbing a thumb just under her hip bone, but as close to the promised land as I'd allow Garrett.

She nodded, looking up at me with wide, excited eyes. "You'll stay and hold my hand?"

Smiling, I leaned down and kissed her. "Fuck, Bella, I wouldn't be anywhere else," I whispered against her lips. I glanced up at Garrett and nodded as he stepped closer to prep her. "She's ready."

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: We're getting down to the end of things. There are only a few more chapters left. Edward and Jasper go back to work soon, so you'll see how that's handled. Actually, the last few chapters are some of my favorites of this story.**

**So...Caius is dead. Demetri is dead. The girls are safe. There will be no one looking for them, but technically, they have to stay where they are.**

**Fic recs... I have two for you this time. The first is**

**_The Singer and the Sorrow_ by MG2112. Oh my, will this fic suck you in. It takes a few chapters to do so, but it's a beautifully written take on vamps and soulmates and love through the ages. I'm absolutely in LOVE with that Edward. He's so beautiful and tortured and sweet. Next... _Something True_ by BelieveItOrNot. So good. AH set in high school, but it's a realistic look at how life is sometimes just...hard. How other people's decisions can affect those around them. It's told in Bella's POV, and she's extremely inside her own head. I liked this Edward a lot, too. He was unwittingly her port in the storm.**

**Don't forget... You can find all the pics on my blog or Jenny's site. The links are on our profile.**

**[Note from Jenny: My fic,**

**_The Heart Wants,_ is up for Top Ten Completed Fics for July on TwiFanfictionRecs. Voting ends August 31. You can vote once a day. I would REALLY appreciate your votes! :) Here's the link, but it's also on our profile & on my own profile. :) /2013/08/01/vote-for-your-top-ten-completed-fics-j uly-2013/**

**Also, I wrote a new**

**_Full Circle_ outtake for the Fandoms4Animals compilation. Donations end August 31, so donate now! It's such a great cause, and every little bit helps. Here's the link, but it's also on our profile & on my own profile. :) .info/donate/ Thank you! – Jen]**

**Okay, so we'll see you guys again on Wednesday. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N #1: We're so glad you guys liked the visit with Edward's family. And all of you are so glad Caius is dead! :) We told you that you didn't need to worry, didn't we? ;) Thank you for all the love. Deb & I both appreciate all your words here, or FB, or Twitter.**

**So the boys are back to work this chapter. It'll be a hard transition for them, but I think they'll survive. ;) So read, enjoy, and see Deb at the bottom! Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 31**

**Bella POV**

"Is it bad that I wanna skip work and run away with you?" I murmured as I watched Edward run the soapy washcloth across his chest.

We'd woken up in his bed and made love in the early morning hours, then climbed into the shower, only to get so worked up trying to wash each other that we'd done it again. Now we were a little pressed for time as we got ready for work. Today was his first day back in the office since leaving Seattle for New York all those months ago, and I knew he was looking forward to getting back to work, but neither of us especially wanted to separate.

He smirked. "I hear the Caribbean's great this time of year," he teased.

"Don't tempt me," I huffed, raising an eyebrow, and then winced when I touched the tattoo just below my hip bone.

"Sore, baby?" he asked, reaching out to brush my hand away. When I nodded, he very gently used his soapy fingers to clean it. "Okay?" he murmured, turning me to the water once I nodded.

As soon as we were clean, he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist before giving me one. I tucked the corner in to keep it in place and then reached for the second one he held out, bending to wrap it around my hair.

Following him into the bedroom, I dropped my towel, much to Edward's pleasure, and grabbed my sapphire blue wrap dress I'd brought with me to wear. I pulled on the thong first, adjusting it before reaching for the matching bra. When I glanced up, Edward was watching me in the mirror, his eyes dark. His jeans were on, but not buttoned, and his black USMS polo shirt was just sitting there in his hands.

Grinning, I sauntered over to him, reaching up to cup my breasts as I looked at myself in the mirror. "I was thinking about getting my nipple pierced," I said, rolling my left one between my thumb and forefinger. "Does Garrett do that, too, or just tattoos?"

Edward shook his head vehemently. "If he knows what's good for him, Garrett won't touch you there," he growled. "It was hard enough letting him do that." He wiggled a finger in the general direction of my tattoo.

"Okay, so if not Garrett, then should I find someplace that can? I'm sure there are a lot of tattoo places that do piercings, as well. Of course, I won't know the guy, so it might be a little uncomfortable to have a stranger feeling my breast and touching my nipple, but I'm sure I would—"

Edward stopped me with a kiss, pulling back and shaking his head. "If you really want it done, I'll find you someone. A female someone," he added quickly.

I laughed, taking pity on him. "I'm just teasing you, silly man. I don't want it pierced. I just wanted to see your reaction."

He reached around and swatted my ass, making me squeal and leap away from his hand. "Tease," he grumbled, but I knew he wasn't angry when he couldn't keep the corner of his mouth from tipping up in a grin. "Get dressed, temptress. I'll make you some tea and a bagel."

I nodded, accepting his kiss before watching him walk out of the bedroom as he pulled the shirt over his head.

When I walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, clothes and makeup on and hair dried and pulled back in a clip at my neck, Edward handed me a mug of steaming tea and a small plate with a bagel and strawberry cream cheese.

"Thanks," I said, taking them in exchange for a quick kiss.

"Mmhm." He pulled out my seat at the table before taking his own.

Once I'd had a bite, I asked, "Think you'll have a busy day today?" He'd been gone so long that it was hard to imagine him trying to get back to it.

He snorted, sipping his coffee. "Nah, not at all, I'm sure. Will probably spend the day on paperwork, catching up on stuff we missed while we were gone, that type of thing, unless something happens like the botched prisoner transport a few weeks ago."

We continued talking as we finished breakfast, and I glanced at the clock. "Damn. I need to get going."

Once we'd both brushed our teeth, we walked out of the house together. When he set his helmet down on the seat of his bike before walking me to the car, I shook my head.

"I really need to look into getting a car. You need this back."

Edward shrugged. "I told you, Bella. It's yours however long you need it."

"What if your dad sees me driving it?" I asked, worrying my bottom lip. It was something I'd been concerned about since figuring out I worked at the same place as Edward's father.

Reaching out, Edward gently tugged my lip free, tapping my chin once with his finger. "It'll be fine. If he sees, I'll tell him the truth – I'm loaning it to you until you get your own, since I've got my bike. I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be either."

Kissing him lightly in thanks, I let him open my car door and then slid inside, tossing my bag onto the passenger seat. "Text me later?"

"Try to stop me," he teased, leaning down with one hand on the door and one on the top of the car. "Call me at lunch?"

"What if you're bus—"

"Baby, just call me," he huffed with a roll of his eyes. "If I have to, I'll turn my phone off."

I smiled, leaning over to kiss him one more time. "Okay."

He shut my car and stood, hands on his hips, as I backed out of the drive. When I waved as I pulled away, he smiled and then turned back to his bike.

~oOo~

_Did I tell you how sexy you looked this morning? That blue is amazing against your skin. ~E_

_Save me from the boredom of paperwork. Please? ~E_

_I can't wait to trace that tattoo with my tongue. It's sexy as hell that you marked yourself for me. ~E_

_I can't ever go away for that long again, baby. My coworkers suck at keeping track of shit. Got a meeting. Call me in twenty? ~E_

I laughed as the image of Edward sitting at his desk, buried behind a mound of paperwork, popped into my head. All morning, his texts had been a combination of sweet, amusing, and entirely too sexy for his own good. I'd just sat down for lunch when his latest text came in, so before I bit into the Greek salad, I typed out a response.

_Poor thing. Try to keep your cool, and I'll reward you tonight at home, yeah? Will call. ~B_

His answer came back almost immediately.

_Mmm, I do like your rewards, Isabella. I'll be on my best behavior...for now. ;) ~E_

"That must be my son," a voice suddenly spoke from beside me, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

I squeaked and looked up to see Carlisle standing near my table with a smirk – very reminiscent of his son's – on his face. "Hi! You startled me," I said with a laugh. Waving my phone, I explained, "Yes, just laughing at Edward's complaints about his coworkers' work habits."

Carlisle chuckled, nodding. "Yes, he's mentioned that to us before, as well." He pointed to the chair opposite me. "I only have a couple of minutes, but if you have time, I'd love to chat."

Smiling, I reached out with my foot and pushed the chair away from the table. "Yeah, of course. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you." He pulled out the chair and sat, resting his cup on the table in front of him. "You picked out a good lunch," he said, motioning to my salad. "Please, go ahead and eat. Don't mind me."

After I'd swallowed a bite, I asked, "Do you eat in here often?"

He wrinkled his nose, again looking so much like an older, more-distinguished version of Edward that it made me swoon, and said, "Not if my wife can help it. She swears it isn't good for me, so she tends to make my lunch for me if she has time."

I laughed. "Yes, I can see that. Some of the stuff up there..." I gave an exaggerated shudder. "This, at least, looked fresh."

He agreed, nodding. "Yes, the salads are generally pretty good if you go for something other than a regular side salad. I'd stay away from the steak – they're usually tough – and the prepackaged sandwiches. The soups and chili are good, as well." Holding up his cup, he said, "The coffee here is much better than the stuff in the doctors' lounge, though, so I make the trek down here at least twice a shift if I have the time."

"I'll stick with my Coke." I laughed, grimacing. "Not a huge coffee drinker."

"Oh yes, Edward did mention that." He smiled, shaking his head before taking a sip from the paper cup. "I wouldn't have gotten through med school without the stuff."

"I've never been a fan. Not sure why. I drink it when I absolutely need to, but otherwise, I'm not even a big fan of the smell, like some people are," I admitted.

He chuckled before taking another sip. "It's not everyone's...cup of tea, so to speak, I suppose." When I finished my next bite of salad, he asked, "How are you enjoying Seattle and Virginia Mason?"

"I love the town so far," I answered. "Edward took me out on his bike and gave me a tour. It's pretty out here, even being as gray as it is sometimes."

He nodded, smiling wryly. "Yes, we do get more than our fair share of clouds and rain."

"As for the hospital, it's great, really. I really like the people I'm working with, and everyone else I've run into has been friendly."

"Good," he huffed. "I'd hate to have anyone fired for being rude to my son's girlfriend."

He winked to show he was teasing, which made me laugh, and then looked at his watch. "I'd better run. I'm not technically on lunch yet, but I needed my fix"—holding up his coffee cup—"so I ran down here. I just couldn't resist getting a chance to chat with you since we didn't have a lot of time last night."

"I'm glad you did," I assured him. "I'd better finish up here so I have time before going back to work to call Edward like I was instructed to."

Laughing, he nodded and stood. "It was good to see you, Bella. Don't be a stranger at the house, okay? Esme and I would love to have you over anytime."

"You, too, Dr. Cull—"

"Carlisle," he interrupted with a raised eyebrow. "We went over that last night, didn't we?"

I grinned. "All right, then. It was good to see you, too, Carlisle."

He gave me one more nod and a wink and then turned, calling out a hello to a group of nurses as he passed their table.

I finished my salad and then dialed Edward's number.

"Bella," he said in answer when it stopped ringing. "Still on lunch?"

"Mmhm. Just finished eating, actually. Guess who I ran into?" I asked in a sing-song voice.

Edward chuckled. "Dad?"

"Yup. He came in for a cup of coffee just after I sat down to eat. We had a good chat."

"Just as long as he's not telling tales about me," he warned teasingly. "So other than a meet and greet with the old man, how's your day been, baby?"

"Been good. Dealt with a patient today about her bill. That was different. Other than that, really it was the same thing I've done every day. Still learning the ropes." I smiled. "How about you? How's it feel to be back?"

He grumbled under his breath for a minute before saying, "I swear, Al let these jackasses get away with half-assed, crappy upkeep on paperwork – like it's _our_ job to do it all, and they couldn't be bothered while we were gone."

"Aww, poor baby. Actually having to work, huh?" I couldn't resist teasing. He made it so easy.

"Well, fuck, baby. I swear it's like they don't know how to input shit into the computer. Half the files from cases over the last few months weren't added yet, so I've been doing that. Just mundane shit. I'd rather be out in the field, actually doing something, instead of stuck inside filling out paperwork."

Laughing, I said, "Be careful what you wish for, Edward."

"I suppose," he huffed with a sigh. "Still..."

Changing the subject, I asked, "Did you get lunch?"

"Not yet. Jessica's supposed to bring us something back when she comes back from her lunch, so anytime."

"Good." Looking at the clock above the door, I said, "I'd better go. I need to make a pit stop before going back to work. Text me later?"

"Of course," he promised. "Jasper and I have to meet with a federal prosecutor late today about some evidence the Marshals Service is gonna be responsible for keeping track of, so if that runs late and I'm not home yet when you get off work, let yourself in, okay?"

I smiled, even though he couldn't see me. "I will. Love you, Edward."

"Love you, too, beautiful."

I hung up, smiling as I walked out of the cafeteria.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

Dust puffed up everywhere when I slammed the next box on the shelf down in storage, my ladder wobbling a little. Shifting shit around down there to accommodate the new evidence we were housing hadn't been easy. Most of it was most certainly ready to go to archives, but still, all we needed was enough room to stack a couple of boxes. The whole damn week had been nothing but paperwork – inputting it, filing it, sorting it, and finally storing it. It was mindless fucking work. I was really grateful that tomorrow was Friday and that I had the whole damn weekend with my girl.

The squeaky wheels of the dolly echoed behind me, and I glanced down behind me to see Jasper wheeling in the new boxes at the same time that my phone rang in my pocket.

"Just hold up a sec," I told him, setting my phone on the closest shelf and hitting speaker. "Cullen," I grunted, shifting another box or two.

"Hey, baby," Bella's voice rang out into the dusty air like the sweetest music.

"Hey, beautiful. Careful what you say. You're on speakerphone. Jasper's a nosy bastard."

"So..." her voice taunted in a sing-song way, and I shook my head, knowing I'd fucked up by even saying any-damn-thing. "I can't talk about that freckle."

"Bella," I warned her, but Jasper's laughter overshadowed me.

"Hi, Jazz," she crooned with a giggle.

"Hey, darlin'." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Where's that freckle?"

"Just below—"

"Oookay," I grunted, slamming the box in my hand down and snatching up the phone. Taking the fucker off speaker, I said, "That's enough. Both of you."

Jazz grinned, shaking his head, but started to unload the dolly. Bella, however, was cracking the fuck up in my ear as I turned around and sat down on the top of the step ladder.

"Is it lunchtime already?" I asked her, wiping the sweat from my face with the sleeve of my shirt and smiling when Jasper muttered to himself about finding out where the hell Jessica was with our food.

"Yeah, I'm still in the cafeteria. I was calling to tell you that I'd be getting out a bit early today," she told me. "Carpet cleaning or something."

"Too bad it's not tomorrow," I said softly. "We could've started the weekend early." Grinning at her soft laugh, I sighed at the work still left around me. "I'm not so lucky, beautiful. Looks like I'll be later. Hey, why don't you stop by? I'll take a break when you get here."

"You sure? I mean, can I?"

"Yes," I said with a laugh. "Remember, baby, we met at my dad's work. No one but Jazz and Al know anything."

"Oh, I know, but..."

"So bring that sweet ass over here when you're done," I growled dramatically into the phone, grinning when she laughed again.

"Okay. I'll text you when I leave," she said softly. "Love you, Edward."

"Love you, too, baby."

Pocketing my phone, I went down the ladder to finish up the last of the boxes. When I made it back to the bullpen, my eyes narrowed on Jasper, who was stuffing his face.

"You couldn't come get me, asshole?" I asked him, smacking the back of his head.

He grinned, the corners of his mouth covered in ketchup. "I was starving."

"Here, Edward," Jessica said with a giggle, handing me the bag in her hand. "I was just coming to get you. Cheeseburger, everything but onions, and fries."

"Thanks," I murmured, falling down into my desk chair.

I could feel her eyes on me, and I glanced up to see that she'd taken her break with us at the empty desk near ours. It was Jasper's knowing smirk that made me blurt out the next thing, because it was time to put an end to Jessica's crush.

"Hey, Jess," I called, giving Jazz a shit-eating grin as I pulled my fries out. "My girlfriend's stopping by later. Will you keep an eye out for her and come get me ASAP?"

Her eyes widened and she nodded silently, but her eyes looked to Jasper when he asked, "No shit? Will her sister be with her?"

"No, I think Ali's still at work. Bella's getting out a bit early today. I'm gonna show her around when she gets here, 'cause who the fuck knows when we'll get done back there," I complained, jerking my chin toward the back hallway before taking a bite of my burger. Looking back over at Jessica, I asked, "So will you? Come get me, I mean?"

She nodded, throwing away her trash and getting up. "Yeah, s-sure, Edward."

When she left the bullpen, Jasper snorted. "That was inevitable. You broke her heart, Ed," he teased.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "She should know now. Would it have been worse to just let Bella show up?" I asked him in a hiss. "I mean, I like Jess – she's cool and all – but not like that. That was never gonna happen."

He grimaced, took a sip of his Coke, and shrugged. "Yeah, I know. Me, too. This was probably the best way."

The next few hours flew by in a whirlwind of boxes, dust, and one fucking hellacious papercut. I kicked the offending box, pulled out my phone to see that I'd missed a text from Bella, and popped my wounded finger in my mouth.

_I'm on my way. Love you. XOXO ~B_

From the timestamp on it, she should just about be to the office. So with one more shift of four boxes, I wiped my hands on my jeans and made my way back out to the bullpen. I snorted at the sight before me.

Uncle Al had his arm draped around my girl's shoulders, grinning like the Cheshire fucking cat. "Look who I found!" he boomed, kissing the side of her head for emphasis. "I was just about to bring her to you."

"Sure you were, you lying fucker," I countered, but my gaze fell to an amused Bella, and I reached for her hand, pulling her from his arms. "Hey, beautiful. How long can you stay?" I asked, kissing her forehead.

"A little bit," she said.

I guided her to my desk, offering her my chair.

"Since you and Jasper are working late, Alice and I are just gonna hang out at the house tonight. A girls' night."

"Sweet! Slumber party!" Jasper teased her with a wink, walking up behind her and squeezing her shoulders. "Welcome to hell, darlin'. Oh, look, Satan himself," he chortled, bursting out in laughter when Al flipped him off.

My uncle looked to Bella. "You see the shit I put up with, sweet one? I don't deserve it, I tell ya!"

"Never!" she agreed with a giggle, leaning in when he kissed her cheek.

He chuckled, turning to me and gripping my shoulder. "Show her around, kid, and then come see me after she leaves. Always a pleasure, Bella."

"Sir," I answered, smiling down at Bella and reaching for her hand.

"Bye, Uncle Al," she said with a wave.

He stopped to face her again. "Oh, will you be at Edward's parents' on Sunday? I'll have my Katie with me. I'd love for you to meet her. You should bring Alice, too."

Bella glanced to me, and I shrugged, which made her laugh. "Yeah, we'll be there," she told him, poking at my side.

Chuckling as he walked away, I tugged her up. "Come on, baby. Grand tour, then."

Bella hung out with us for about an hour. I introduced her to most of the guys, who were charmed by her instantly, and showed her most of the building. She was fascinated with the garage that housed some of our vehicles and heavier equipment. The weapons storage made her gaze around with wide eyes, but she loved the white collar division, where they were investigating Internet and money crimes. I'd figured she would – it appealed to her love of numbers.

When we walked back out to the front lobby to the elevators, Bella gave a wave to Jessica. "It was nice meeting you."

"You, too," Jess answered, and I saw a small, yet sweet smile on the girl's face before the doors closed.

I walked Bella down to my car and braced my hands on either side of her on the roof. "So..." I said, drawing out the word, "you're not coming over tonight?" I pouted, which only made her grin up at me as she bit on that bottom lip of hers.

"No, but I promise you have me all weekend," she purred, lifting up on her toes to press a kiss to my lip. "Don't pout, Edward. You'll live." Her eyes flickered to the building behind me. "She's got it pretty bad, Cullen."

Groaning, I shook my head, letting my forehead fall to hers. "I know. I've tried everything to put a stop to it. I swear there's nothing—"

"I know. Jasper told me." She giggled, gazing up at me and running her fingers through my hair. "She asked how we met," she breathed against my lips, only to press a teasing kiss there. "I told her that you were a relentless flirt at the hospital."

Grinning, I pressed my whole body against hers. "Never mind that I was pitifully about to fall at your feet..."

"Hmm, yes, I left that part out," she hummed against my mouth. "I told her we'd been together ever since...about a month now."

"Mmhm, and?"

"And that I find you irresistibly charming?" she chortled, shaking her head. "This is all going straight to your...ego, isn't it?"

Laughing, my head fell back, but I dropped another kiss to the tip of her nose. "No, not my _ego _exactly," I crooned, pressing against her even more, because my dick was loving this shit.

She grinned and pulled me down for a heart-stopping kiss. When it was over, my breathing was ragged as she whispered, "Call me when you get home, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I panted, nodding against her forehead. "I love you. And thanks for coming by."

"I love you, too. And I'd tell you to do the same sometime, but I'm afraid the girls in my office would eat you alive," she teased, pushing me back with a finger on my chest. "They're older women, Edward. It's not safe."

"Oh, I'm so popping in one day next week," I told her with a cheesy grin, rubbing my hands together. "This shit I've just _got_ to see!"

"Go back to work, Edward," she sighed, rolling her eyes at me and letting me open the car door for her. "I'll talk to you later."

I shut her door, watching as she backed out and left, driving my car like a sexy fucking champ. I wasn't going to lie; I liked that I could help her out with a vehicle, but really, I just loved seeing her behind the wheel.

I was pretty damn sure the shit-eating grin was still on my face when I walked back inside. However, I didn't have time to keep it, because Al was yelling my name as I stepped through the bullpen doors. When I walked through his office door, he gestured for me to close it, leaning his elbows on his desk, but he was wearing a small smile.

"I take it with Bella showing up here that things are...serious?" he asked, tilting his head at me.

Smirking, I sat back in the chair, folding my arms across my chest. "They are. You know, I met her at Dad's hospital."

He snorted. "Yeah, I know, smart ass. And it's good you're keeping that up." He sobered up quickly, but looked me in the eye. "You know, son, when this all started, I knew you could handle the WitSec detail without any problems, but when I saw the way you looked at her..." He nodded to himself, but continued. "You told me to wait until you were in Seattle before I asked you what it felt like to be knocked on your ass. You ready to answer that for me?"

Gone was my supervisor, and in his place was the man I'd known my whole life. He wasn't asking out of curiosity; he was asking because he'd always given a shit about me, had always made me feel like I'd fit in, even before I knew why my dad and I were so different.

I got up and walked to the window of his office that faced out over the city. I sniffed once, saying, "It feels...amazing. And scary. But I love her, Al." I glanced over, and he was staring up at me. "More than anything. She's _everything_ to me," I said, leaning on the word that I knew he'd understand the most.

He smiled again. "I'm so proud of you, kid," he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "Not only did you and Whitlock do a phenomenal job on that detail, but you've finally figured out that you don't have to keep everyone out. I always felt responsible for what happened to you in college."

"What? Why?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"'Cause I knew about Randy Tate, just not about Maggie. I should've protected you better."

"She fucking cheated, Al. It wasn't something you could've foreseen," I laughed humorlessly. "The money, well, I found out later that Randy made her do it...sort of. Or at least, that's the story she's spewing. Let it go, Al." I waved a hand at him and rolled my eyes. "I have. You should, too. I don't blame you. You helped as much as you could back then."

He stood up, gripping my shoulder. "Good for you, Ed."

Smiling, I nodded. "Thanks, Uncle Al."

His phone buzzed across his desk, the song "Maneater" belting out into the air, which made me laugh and point to it. "I do want it noted that my parents are still a better marital influence on me than you are."

"Shut the fuck up and get out!" he snapped, but his grin was hilarious.

"Tell Aunt Jane I said hello," I sang, opening his door.

His eye twitched at me. "This soulless witch is not your aunt!" he growled, answering the call. "Chambers!"

I was still chuckling as I joined Jasper in the storage room.

~oOo~

"Beautiful, where are you?" I called out, dropping my keys on the table by my front door.

I was so fucking glad it was Friday that I was pretty sure I broke several laws trying to get home. Seeing my car already in the driveway when I pulled in made me even happier. I took a deep breath, smirking because my house no longer smelled like just me. Added into the scent of leather and my cologne was the soft smell of flowers and fruit...and fuck, was that pizza?

"Kitchen, baby," Bella called out. "I stopped and got us dinner. I figured you wouldn't want...to...stop," she yelled, but sputtered to a halt, grinning when I leaned in the doorway. "Hey."

"You don't have to yell," I teased her with a wink.

My eyes drank in the sight of her already changed into some sweet, soft, gray cotton shorts and my Batman T-shirt tied to the side. Her fingers were absentmindedly scratching where her new ink was. She was absolutely and ignorantly adorable.

"Stop, sweetheart," I whispered, brushing her hand out of the way. "You'll scar. Let it heal. I know it itches."

She grumbled, but let me pick her up and set her on the counter next to two pizza boxes. I tugged the waist of her shorts down a little to check on how it was doing. She was almost healed, though there was one little spot that had some scabbing that needed to be left alone.

Rubbing my thumb over it gently, I smiled when her eyes rolled into the back her head. "Better, baby?"

"Don't stop."

I couldn't help it. Leaning in, I kissed her sweet neck, saying, "That sounds awfully familiar...and fuck-hot." Her giggle vibrated my lips, and I smiled against her skin. "Beside this – and don't get me wrong, I'm all about continuing anything that makes you say those things – what are we doing tonight?"

"Staying in," she breathed, her fingers weaving themselves into my hair. "I brought beer, too. And I thought we could watch a movie. I rummaged through your collection." My thumb came to a halt, and Bella giggled. "Yeah, I totally found your porn stash, Edward Cullen." My mouth opened and closed against her neck while she laughed at me, grabbing my face to force my gaze to hers. "It's impressive, I'll say that much." She kissed my lips. "I've really never seen you blush, baby. That's hilarious."

"Bella, I—"

"Stop, Edward. Everyone looks at porn," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If they say differently, they're lying."

I grinned like a proud – and somewhat turned-on – motherfucker. "Do tell, Isabella."

She waved the question away, slipping down to the floor. "I found something you promised me that we could watch," she said, running into the living room and back and holding up a black DVD case. "You said when we got to Seattle that you'd show me the videos from your training."

"Of all the shit in there, _that's_ what you wanna watch, B? Really?" I asked incredulously. But it was those big, brown eyes gazing up at me that made me cave. "Okay, okay. Just let me change clothes and eat first. And maybe get a beer in, 'cause there's some serious trash talk on that thing."

Her giggle was worth giving in. She looked like I'd just handed her the damn world on a silver platter.

After changing into a pair of basketball shorts, eating a couple slices of pizza, and grabbing up the DVD box, I stepped up to my entertainment center.

"You sure, B?" I teased her, giving her half a smile. "We _could_ watch porn. I have this one where the girl can—"

"Edward!"

Grinning, I popped the video in and snatched up the remote, saying, "I should set this up for you. Like _why_ it's on video, first of all." I chuckled at the memory, shaking my head. "Jasper and I competed constantly throughout training. Like violently. Off the field, he's so damn laid-back, but on it, he's a monster. The guy that filmed this, Vinny, was our roommate and did it as a part of his audio-video project _and_ to settle a bet."

"What was the bet?"

"Who could work the obstacle course the fastest and the most accurate." I grinned in pride because I'd beaten Jasper in both, though by the skin of my fucking teeth. "This was just before training was over."

She nodded, tucked her hair behind her ear, and motioned for me to get on with it.

The bright sunshine and thick woods of southern Georgia came on screen, showing Jasper and me just a little over three years prior. We'd done the video for shits and giggles, so we weren't in gear, just in simple jeans, tank tops, and baseball caps to keep the sun out of our eyes. The only weapon we'd opted for was our sidearm.

Bella scooted up against me, her back to my chest with our legs stretched out on the ottoman, and I wrapped my arms around her. She giggled at the taunting, the shoving, the laughter, because it was pretty damn funny. Jasper and I weren't much different now. What was cute was the way her muscles would twitch as she rooted for me to pull ahead, climb the walls, or even shoot at targets. It was about halfway through the cardio portion of the course that I realized she was not just engrossed, but turned on.

Her nipples were hard underneath her shirt, her legs were pressed together, and her teeth were working her bottom lip violently. Glancing up at the screen, I hid my grin in her hair. Apparently, the pushups were doing it. I knew she liked the way I looked after a run, but this was different. We may have joked about porn, but this _was_ porn to her.

She jumped a little when I couldn't resist brushing a thumb across one tight peak.

"Is watching me work out doing this to you, beautiful?" I asked softly in her ear, cupping both her tits in my hands over her shirt, rolling her nipples just a little. She nodded, arching up into my hands and practically writhing, like her skin was on fire. "You sure it's me?" I teased her, knowing the answer, but her fiery glare at me made me chuckle. "Just checking, baby."

Skimming one hand down her stomach, I forced her legs apart and palmed her possessively over the cotton that was covering her pussy. Fuck me, she was on fire and already sensitive, her hips rolling hard to grind against my hand.

"You don't need porn, do you?" I snickered against the side of her neck, dragging my teeth lightly across her skin and ending in a long, open-mouthed kiss.

"N-No," she stuttered

"What do you need?"

"You. Just you."

Careful of the tender skin where her ink was, I slipped my hand beneath the band of her shorts and into her underwear. My fingers came in contact with her lips, which were already covered in arousal. She was fucking drenched.

I had to know. "Jesus, Bella. What's making you this wet?" I asked, tracing around her entrance and over her clit, not really giving any pressure, but she was slick with want. My dick twitch hard against her back at the thought that she was so turned on that she was coating my whole hand.

She shook her head profusely, her head falling back to my shoulder.

"No, no, no," I sang into her ear, nipping at her earlobe. "It's not over, sweetheart. Don't you wanna see me win?" I grinned when a long, pitiful groan erupted from her. When her head shot back up, I whispered, "Now, tell me. Why does watching me do this to you?" I asked, sliding one single finger deep inside of her, my eyes rolling back at how hot and wet she was. "Please, please tell me."

"You're so..." She panted, her hips pressing against my hand and her fingers now gripping fistfuls of my shorts. "Confident...and it's..."

"Hmm?" I hummed against the soft spot behind her ear. "I'm what?"

"Beautiful...and so good at what you do. Like you were born for it." She gripped the wrist of the hand that was inside her shorts, begging, "Christ, Edward...more!"

Adding a second finger and sliding my hand beneath her shirt, I acquiesced to her without question. "Keep watching. I want you to come, baby. It's almost over. See?"

On the screen, Jasper and I made a mad dash for the finish line, with me crossing first, but just barely. We collapsed onto the ground, laughing and punching each other.

I could tell her orgasm sneaked up on her. Hard. Her breath caught in her throat, and her toes curled as she practically vibrated in my arms. She hardly made a sound, but her neck was now salty from the tiny bit of sweat that was had broken out all over her. God damn, I loved making her come.

"See? I won," I purred against her neck, smiling when a breathy laugh escaped her.

"I see that," she sighed, her body twitching involuntarily with aftershocks. "I had no doubts, Edward."

Just before the video stopped, my voice could be heard loud and clear. "Hey, Vinny, make me a copy of that. I'm gonna show the whole fucking world who the man _really_ is."

"Shut the fuck up, Ed. We're doing this again!" Jasper yelled, and the screen went bright blue.

Bella giggled, shaking her head as her heart calmed down. I could feel it against my chest, which made me smile.

She turned in my lap, a wry smile gracing her lips. "So, did you? Show the whole world, I mean?"

I smiled, shrugging a shoulder. "I just did, Bella. You're my whole fucking world. No one else has ever seen that."

Her brow furrowed, and she grasped my face, kissing the ever-loving shit out of me. "No more TV. Take me upstairs," she commanded in a whisper.

Nodding, I wrapped her around me and stood with her in my arms. I remembered thinking the first time I saw her that those sweet brown eyes could bring a man to his knees, but I'd been so fucking wrong. The look in her eye right then was so full of love and want that I could barely take the next breath. And as I trudged us up the stairs, I remembered thinking how weak she'd made me feel, how exposed and nervous, but I'd been wrong. She made me feel like a fucking hero, a god among men, and I loved her for it. As I laid her down gently in the middle of my bed, I vowed that I would never, ever take that shit for granted again.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: So the boys are back to work, and Uncle Al finally got his question answered from so long ago. :) And Edward finally showed her the DVD from raining. ;) They're slowly finding a routine, a way to settle in.**

**As always, there's a couple of pictures for this chapter. Find them the usual places. Links are on our profile!**

**No fic recs this post. For those of you on FB with me, you know I recently acquired a new kitten. that made for chasing her around instead of reading the last few days. So I'll catch up soon. I am in the middle of a very good fic. I'll probably rec it on Sunday.**

**Make sure you vote for Jenny's _The Heart Wants_. It's up for Fic of the Month over at TwiFanFictionRecs. Also...she's written an AMAZING outtake for _Full Circle_ for a really good cause – Fandoms4Animals. So go grab the links from our profile or her personal one for those! :)**

**Okay, so we'll see you guys on Sunday for the next chapter. Until then... Mooches, Deb. :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: I'll make this short and sweet because believe me, you wanna get to this chapter. ;) Thank you so much for all the support. Unless you're a writer, you probably don't understand just how much every review and kind word you leave us (wherever you leave it) means. So thank you.**

**Be sure to see Deb at the bottom. She gives some important info in her A/N. ;) Mwah! – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 32**

**Bella POV**

I clicked open a file on the computer and began looking through the spreadsheet that popped up, hiding a yawn in my elbow. I'd barely been at work forty-five minutes, so I wasn't quite awake yet. We'd had a good weekend, but Edward had kept me up late the night before, so I wasn't at all ready for Monday morning to come around – but come around it had.

A knock on the door frame had me looking up. I smiled when I saw Carlisle. "Hey! What brings you here so earl—"

My words died when he stepped inside and shut the door.

"Carlisle, what's going on? Is it Edward?" I felt my heart drop to my stomach and my throat close, making it hard to swallow. "Did something happen?"

"No, sweetheart. Edward's fine. But I do have some news." At my nod, he said, "Al called me. A bomb..."

My brain went fuzzy and I leaned down, putting my head by my knees as Carlisle's words ran together and became background noise for the pounding in my skull. I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up – or both.

"Breathe, Bella," Carlisle said as he suddenly pressed his cool hand against the back of my neck. "Just breathe. He's fine, sweetheart."

Sucking in a deep breath, I choked and coughed, sitting up to force the air into my lungs. When I felt like I could speak, I said, "Sorry."

He shook his head. "It's okay. I understand. Ready to hear more?" I nodded again, and he smiled, patting my shoulder before moving back around to the other side of the desk. "As I was saying, a bomb threat was called in to the Federal Office Building – about half a mile from the hospital. He, Edward, and Jasper have been called out with the Marshals Service to help empty out the building while the bomb squad goes in to do what they need to do. Edward didn't have time to call, but he ordered Al to get a message to me to give to you."

I swallowed, nodding. "'Kay," I croaked out softly. "Tell me, please?"

"Edward said, and I quote, _Get your ass to my parents' house. I love you, baby. I'll be safe. Please, stay with Mom until you hear from me._ And Jasper asked that you tell Alice he loves her and she should stay with you and Esme until he comes to get her."

I nodded again, my brain feeling fuzzy. I shoved it back, needing a clear head.

"He's gonna be fine, Bella," Carlisle said when I looked up at him again. "My son is damn good at his job, and Al will make sure he and Jasper are safe, but you need to be strong for him so he doesn't have to worry about you while he's down there, okay?

"'Kay," I whispered, pulling open my drawer to grab my bag. "Are you leaving?"

He shook his head again. "I have to stay in case there is a bomb and it goes off. We're the closest hospital, so we'll be the first stop for any that need treatment. Esme's at home, and she's expecting you and Alice. Rose and Emma are headed there as we speak, since Emmett will be busy at the station." Looking at me with a raised eyebrow, he asked seriously, "Are you okay to drive? Do I need to have someone drive you?"

"N-No," I stuttered, shaking my head. "I'm okay. I'll call Alice and tell her on my way."

After looking at me for a moment, he nodded. "Okay. Then come on. I'll walk you out."

I murmured my thanks and let him shepherd me out.

As we passed my boss's office, I started to stop, but he said, "I've already explained to Ms. Robinson that you're taking off for a family emergency. You're cleared to leave, sweetheart."

I nodded, quickening my steps as we left the office.

Carlisle stayed with me as I made my way to the parking garage. I didn't even think about driving Edward's car until it came within sight.

"Ed...Edward's letting me borrow his car until I've saved up enough for the down payment on my own. I'm not—"

"I know, Bella," he interrupted with a chuckle. "He explained."

I smiled, fumbling with the keys when I pulled them out of my purse.

Carlisle took them from me and unlocked the door before handing them back to me. "Have faith, Bella," he said as he pulled me into a gentle hug. "He'll be fine. I know my son. He's strong, and he has something worth coming home to, so he'll do everything in his power to get back to us."

I clenched the back of his shirt in my hands and nodded, inhaling his scent – a mix of laundry detergent, soap, and male – which calmed me as much as anything could at the moment. I felt protected, almost like my own father was holding me and telling me everything would be okay.

Finally, I let him go and stepped back. "Thank you," I said, swiping at my cheeks to brush away the tears that had fallen.

He waved away my words and pulled the door open, giving me a gentle nudge. "Go, Bella. Call Alice, and the two of you go to Esme like Edward asked."

I nodded and slid down into the seat, holding my skirt out of the way so Carlisle could close my door. He stepped away as I started the car, and I watched him in the rearview mirror as I drove away.

Once I got several blocks away from the hospital, my gut clenching at the sound of sirens and sight of passing emergency vehicles, I stuck my Bluetooth headset in my ear and hit the button on my phone to call Alice.

After six rings, just before it switched over to voice mail, she answered breathlessly, "Bella? What's wrong?"

Immediately, my tears began flowing again, blurring my vision for a second before I blinked them away. "Alice..." I told her what Carlisle had said, ignoring Alice's gasping cry and ending with, "You need to leave now, Pix."

I could almost picture her frantic nod as she said, "Shit, shit, shit! Yeah, I'll meet you there."

After telling her I'd see her there, I clicked off the call, barely holding myself back from hitting speed dial one for Edward. Instead, I gripped the steering wheel with both hands, concentrating on getting to the safety of Esme's house.

When I pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, Alice turned in right behind me. With shaky hands, I climbed out and met her beside my car, pulling her into a tight hug as I finally broke down sobbing. She was shaking like a leaf, her own tears falling and soaking my shirt.

I heard a door open, but didn't look up until Esme spoke, her voice soft, from beside us.

"Come on inside, girls. I have some tea made up, and we can watch the news while we wait to hear from the boys, okay?"

Alice and I nodded, and she stepped between us, putting her arms around our shoulders to guide us to the house.

"Rose and Emma got here a few minutes ago, and Katie's here – she's home sick from school, so Al asked me to watch her. So we've got plenty of company." She opened the door to the house, ushering us in ahead of her.

Rose was standing in front of the couch, rocking baby Emma in her arms. She looked up when we walked into the living room. Smiling sadly, she said, "No news yet."

I nodded. "I had the radio on in the car."

A rough cough from the other couch drew my attention that direction, and I looked over to see poor Katie lying under a blanket, her gaze trained on the television. We'd met her the night before at dinner. She was a beautiful little girl, with long, straight blond hair and blue eyes, but right now, she looked absolutely pitiful – flushed, dark circles under her eyes and a red nose that looked sore from blowing a few too many times.

"Katie, sweetheart," Esme started, waiting until she looked our direction. "You remember Bella and Alice, right? They're gonna wait here with us, okay?"

Katie nodded. "'Kay." She turned a tremulous frown in our direction, and even from across the room, I could see the glassiness of her eyes. "Aunt Esme said Edward and Jasper are with my dad."

I smiled, trying to look reassuring, and nodded, moving over to the little girl. Squatting down, I said, "Yeah, sweetie, they are. I hear you're feeling pretty rotten, huh? It wasn't Aunt Esme's cooking last night, was it?" I teased, winking at Esme when she playfully huffed.

Katie giggled, shaking her head. "No, Aunt Esme's a good cook. Dad said I just have a cold." She coughed hard, her face turning red from the effort, and struggled to sit up. I held out my hand, and she took it, using the leverage to pull herself to a seated position. "Will you sit with me, Bella?"

"Of course," I answered with a smile, setting my bag down and scooting her blanket out of the way so I could sit down beside her.

She immediately curled into my side, her warm cheek pressed against my arm as her eyes went back to the TV. I pulled my arm free and wrapped it around her, tugging her so she was resting more comfortably against me.

Alice sat down on my other side and clutched my hand while Esme settled on the other couch beside Rose, taking a now-sleeping Emma from her arms. The baby was oblivious to the tension the rest of us were feeling as we watched the video footage from downtown Seattle.

"Police from the East and West Precincts are continuing to block traffic and evacuate residents from the area," the way-too-perky blonde reported from outside the cordoned-off area downtown.

"Emmett," Rose breathed, and I looked over to see her eyes closed tightly.

Esme murmured to Alice and me, "Emmett works out of the East Precinct."

I nodded and then looked back at the TV as the reporter continued speaking.

"According to a source inside the police department, agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, as well as the FBI, are on scene. There are approximately two hundred people currently in the building, and the federal agents are working to get everyone out."

A newscaster still at the TV station asked the reporter on scene, "Mitzi, any word yet whether a bomb has actually been found?"

"Jim, word came down just a moment ago that an explosive device of some sort has indeed been found in the mechanical room in the basement of the building. No word yet on the size or type of the device. I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I hear more."

"Shit," Alice cursed softly beside me. "I was really hoping it would turn out to be an empty threat."

The rest of us nodded.

I was a wreck inside as I thought of Edward being in the building where a bomb could go off at any moment. It seemed like I'd just found him, and now, there was a possibility that I could lose him. The thought made me sick to my stomach, and I had to grit my teeth in order to keep from losing it completely. I'd promised Carlisle I'd be strong for Edward, and I would – even if I felt as weak and helpless as a kitten.

Twenty minutes later, the reporter was updating the news desk that there was no word of any updates yet, when a loud sound came suddenly from behind her, along with gasps and cries from the people around her.

The room around me was absolutely still and silent as the reporter looked frantically around her and said, "Jim, it sounded like there was an explosion in the Federal Office Building. I repeat, a bomb has gone off in downtown Seattle in the Federal Office Building."

I gasped out a strangled, "Edward," as my tears began to fall again.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"Everybody! Listen up!" Uncle Al yelled from middle of the bullpen. Once all the activity around him came to a halt, he rubbed his face. "I need everyone to gear up. Now! Seattle PD has received a bomb threat at the Federal Office Building. We'll be working with them and the FBI to clear out the people inside while the bomb squad verifies whether or not it's a true threat. Be ready to roll out in two minutes!"

Jasper and I looked at each other and then to the map on the wall of the city.

"Fuck me running," I growled, standing up from my desk and following Al to his office.

"I ain't got time for bullshit, Ed," he stated as he snatched up his gun holster and shield.

"No, but you do have time to call my dad, Al. Do it. That's less than half a mile from the hospital," I argued. When he opened his mouth to snap at me, I held up a hand. "I'm not fucking stupid. I know he's needed there and would never leave. I want Bella at my parents'. Now."

"And tell her to grab Alice on the way," Jasper piped up from behind me.

Al nodded, picking up his phone. "Any message you want him to give her?"

"Umm, yeah. Tell her: Get your ass to my parents' house. I love you, baby. I'll be safe. Please, stay with Mom until you hear from me." I waited until he nodded and looked to Jasper, who gave his own message for Bella to pass along to Alice.

Once we heard him say, "Carlisle," into the phone, we spun around and headed into the locker rooms.

~oOo~

I adjusted the ear piece in my ear as Jasper flew through the streets. We were lights and sirens and a long caravan of marshals in vans, buses, and SUVs. The local PD had already blocked off the street, and the media was already starting to gather a few blocks down, not to mention there were choppers in the sky, both media and law enforcement.

Jasper pulled to a stop, and we launched out to find Al, who was already receiving intel from what looked like Seattle PD. Al spun to face us, placing his ear piece in his ear.

"I need you in three teams," he stated, holding up three fingers. "Cullen, you and Whitlock take a team to the back side of the building through the loading dock. You'll be in charge of the center portion of the building. Johnson, your team in through the front door, taking the west side. Lewis, you'll take the east side. There's a side entrance..." He trailed off when we were approached by another officer from PD.

"The bomb-sniffing dogs found something, sir," he told Al. He swallowed thickly. "The basement... The whole damn thing is rigged."

Al turned back to us. "Finish emptying that building. Go, go, go!"

I spun to my team, which consisted of not only Jasper, but the three people that had helped me on my last fugitive recovery – Collins, Crawford, and the only girl on the Seattle team, Pope. "Alpha Team." I spun my automatic weapon from my back to my front. "My team, on me!"

We double-timed it around the side of the building to the loading dock at the back. There were three main bay doors and an entrance door. All of them were cracked wide open and the bays were empty, so we called it clear.

The building was decorated in that old art deco shit, all brass and bright colors and antique-looking. Since we had the most floors, we took the stairs and started at the topmost floor to work our way down. We found a few stragglers left behind and made sure to get them out, but it was already pretty damn empty. The next few floors – eight through six – were definitely empty. On the fourth floor, we scared the absolute shit out of a poor cleaning woman that hadn't heard the alarm due to the fact that she was in the storage closet with headphones in her damn ears.

By the time we reached the main lobby, we were winded. With Kevlar vests, heavy weapons, sidearms strapped to our thighs, all those motherfucking stairs, and the adrenaline, we were just about to sweat to death. The power had been cut, per protocol, so the still, warm summer was pushing in on us from every fucking side.

"Pope, you and Crawford check the reception area. Jazz, you and Collins are with me. We'll check the stairs heading down to maintenance in the basement.

I heard Johnson's team call an all-clear, and not long after, Lewis's team did the same. The metal steps heading down the stairs were lined with members of the bomb squad, though the main team was deep in the basement.

The first officer closest to me faced me when I said, "Building's clear of civilians. What've we got down there?"

"Six of them. Six motherfuckers down there...sir," he answered, swallowing thickly. "All timers, all strapped to the pipelines. They've disengaged four of them so far." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "They're some sort of homemade bullshit. You know, household chemicals, can be found on the Internet... That type of shit. One would cause some damage. All six? Serious trouble. They could crumble the foundation of the whole damn building."

"Copy that," I said, gesturing for Collins and Jasper to head back up to the first floor. "Alpha team to Chambers," I stated over the radio once we were back in the stairwell, and the rest of my team appeared at the door.

"Yeah, Ed. Talk to me."

"The center section of the building is clear. Bomb squad has six...count 'em _six_ bombs down here. Four have been disengaged. Homegrown."

"Ten-four. Get your asses—"

He didn't get to finish. A loud pop, a rumble of the building, and a bright flash caused us to hit the deck. Smoke started to ooze under the door from the basement, filling the stairwell with the sickly, acrid smell of burning chemicals. But it was the sound of metal falling that made me yank the basement door open.

Debris and metal and concrete were everywhere, as were the officers down there. Some were already stirring. Luckily, the pipe that was destroyed had kept the fire down to a minimum.

"Edward, damn it! Answer me!" I heard Al over the radio once the noise settled down.

"We're gonna need buses. I've got two, four, six...seven injured down here." I spun to Jasper. "We need them up and outta there. Now! If they can be moved, get 'em up to the lobby."

The next few seconds were a blur. The officers on the stairs were the least injured, so Pope and Collins tended to them and helped them out the door. Jasper and I worked our way down into the basement that was slowly filling with water, but not just any water. It was from the return line, so it smelled foul as all hell. Crawford practically had to carry the next guy up and out, due to what looked like a broken leg.

As we worked our way toward where the blast had originated from, the stench of blood met my nose. It was much stronger than the burning chemical smell. It seemed the squad member actually disengaging the bomb took the biggest hit, but at least he was conscious, trying to sit up.

"Hang on, hang on," Jasper told him, lifting him up out of the water just a bit and pulling off his blast equipment. We saw the problem. One of the valve knobs had shot off the pipe and punctured his leg on impact like a bullet wound.

"That was the last one, but we gotta move," the guy rasped, his name patch reading "Snow." He pointed above us, but it was too damn late.

"Jasper! Cover him!" I yelled at the same time a fair amount of pipes let go from the ceiling.

We both fell over Snow, and I hissed, squeezing my eyes closed as the thunk of metal hit my head, but despite the ringing in my ears and the sting of a cut, I was okay. So was Jasper, when I glanced over at him, though there was a rather nasty gash on his arm.

"God damn it!" I snapped, shaking my head to clear it, but lifting Snow up just enough to pull him to a drier spot. I removed my belt, securing it around the guy's upper thigh to slow down the bleeding. Looking up at Jasper, I snapped, "I want out of this motherfucking basement!"

He grinned and nodded. "No shit. Let's carry this guy up, yeah?"

"You okay?" I asked, gesturing to his arm.

"Please," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I've had worse in training."

Chuckling, I nodded, wrapping Snow's arm around my shoulders while Jasper did the same with his other. "On three. One, two, three," I grunted, and we lifted the officer up.

Negotiating the stairs wasn't easy, especially when they gave an eerie creak as we ascended them, but we made it eventually. The lobby was chaos, but we were met by an EMT with a gurney who helped us load Snow up on it.

Stepping out the main front doors and into the street, I shook my head, which was pounding right along with my heartbeat. It looked like Armageddon outside, with choppers flying as low as they could, law enforcement officers every-damn-where, and fire and rescue running past us. But it was Al that was the first to make it to us.

"You scared the fucking shit outta me, kid," he snapped, but his eyes raked over both of us. "Don't ever do that again."

Grinning, I fell down onto the curb, touching my fingers to my temple, where they came away with a touch of blood. "I need a fucking cigarette. This quitting shit is for the damn birds."

One appeared in front my face already lit, and I glanced up to see Pope standing there with a wry smile on her face. "Your girlfriend will kill you."

"I know," I groaned, patting my pockets for my phone, but when I pulled it out, a string of curses left my mouth around the cigarette between my lips because the bastard was waterlogged. "Fuck me. Jazz, gimme your phone."

"Don't bother." He held his up, snorting as the damn thing dripped.

Al knelt in front of us. "I want you both to ride in on a bus and get checked out, and I don't wanna hear shit about it. I'll let the girls know you're safe. I gotta call Esme, anyway, to let Katie know I'm okay."

We both groaned, standing up slowly.

"I said no shit!" Al snapped, pointing toward the closest ambulance.

"You know, he's awful cranky," Jasper muttered, but he said it loud enough that Al could hear him.

"He needs to get laid," I answered back, tossing my cigarette butt to the street.

"Eww, he's old," Jasper teased, ducking when Al went to smack the back of his head.

"I'll show you old. Get outta my face and get that shit looked at!" he growled, but he was already pulling out his phone when we stepped up into the back of the closest ambulance.

~oOo~

The hallway of the ER was insanity. I caught glimpses of my dad as he worked on the officers that had been down in the basement, the worst off being Snow. Jasper and I stayed out of the way, though it wasn't long before a nurse took him to an open bed to stitch up his arm. My head gave a dull throb, and I sat forward, my hands sinking into my hair. I wanted my girl more than anything, if only to tell her I was okay, because I knew she was probably losing her sweet mind.

My belt appeared in my vision, all stained with blood, and I took it, looking up to see my dad standing there.

"You probably saved his life," he stated, tilting my head up and looking at the gash on my temple. "Leaving the shrapnel in there helped. We were able to stop the bleeding. He's up in surgery to repair the damage to the muscle tissue."

"Good," I murmured, letting him flash a light into my eyes.

"You could use a couple of stitches, son," he told me, "but you don't have a concussion."

"Okay," I conceded with a nod.

He took me to an empty room and sat me down in the chair. He worked quietly, cleaning the wound and then numbing it to start the stitches. It only needed five of them.

When he was done, he turned my face to his. "I'm so very proud of you, Edward."

"Thanks, Dad," I whispered, smiling when he ruffled my hair lightly. "Um...can I use your phone?"

He smirked, rolling his eyes. "You don't need to call anyone."

"What? Yeah, Bella," I argued, but he yanked the curtain back and gestured down the corridor.

The sweetest fucking sight rushed into the room as my dad walked away, wearing a silly-ass grin.

"Edward," Bella gushed, rushing into my arms.

I buried my nose into the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply the scent that calmed me to my very soul. Fruit and flowers and something altogether just...Bella washed over me as her hands practically caressed every inch of my head, neck, and back.

"I'm okay, beautiful," I sighed, nuzzling her neck. "I'm sorry I didn't call. My phone..."

"I know," she sighed into the top of my head. "Al told us." Her warm hands flattened on the side of my face, pulling me back. Those deep brown eyes raked over the stitches my dad had just put in. "That's almost in the same spot as before."

Smiling up at her, I leaned in to kiss her lips. "Hard head, baby."

She giggled, still holding my face and pressing her forehead to mine. "Oh, believe me, Edward, I know."

"Love you, Bella," I told her softly. "Sorry if that scared you."

"It did, but..." she whispered. "I have faith in you. And I love you, too." She sighed deeply, brushing her lips across mine. "When can I steal you? I want to take you home and take care of you."

Home. The word struck a chord with me, and I hugged her tighter. Bella was my home. It didn't matter where that was or whether her name was Marie Brandon or Bella Swan. There was no question or doubt in my mind anymore that I would follow her the rest of my life, no matter the obstacle. Whether it was her WitSec protection, my job, or even her career, I would be with her. Suddenly, I just fucking _knew_ that it wouldn't be much longer until I moved her in with me. And I wondered briefly if someday, she wouldn't be opposed to one more name change. It wouldn't be now, or the next day, but my heart settled in my chest knowing that I'd finally found my everything.

"Now," I stated eventually, standing up from my chair and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Dropping a heavy kiss to the top of her head, I said, "You can make me one of your famous grilled cheeses."

She laughed softly, kissing my cheek. "You know, I can _like totally_ make spaghetti sauce now. This really hot guy showed me."

"Oh, hell," I sighed, shaking my head and guiding her out into the chaos that was the emergency room.

She giggled, leaning into me. "I'm glad you're okay, Edward. Let's get you home."

I nodded, smiling down at her. "I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else, Bella."

~oOo~

"She'll kill you, you know," Jasper chuckled, shaking his head as he handed over the manila envelope.

"Maybe," I said with a chuckle, tucking it into the back pocket of my jeans and tugging on my helmet and sunglasses. "Maybe not..."

He backed away as I started the engine of my bike, and I tore out of the parking lot of the station. It wasn't long before I was home, pulling in right behind my Audi. It was the Saturday after the bomb at the Federal Office Building. My schedule was rather erratic, but we were making it work. She'd spent the day with my sister, Alice, and my mom. They'd been out shopping. Bella said she was ready to start looking into getting her own car. However, she was waiting for me to take her.

"Baby, where are you?" I called once I walked in the door and dropped my keys on the table.

"Upstairs, Edward!" she answered.

I took the steps two at a time, stepping into my room. "Damn, beautiful, did you lose your mind or what?"

She laughed, glancing over her shoulder. "No, no...I just needed to get started putting my wardrobe back together. Some of my stuff from New York..." She wrinkled her nose at me, and I grinned at how adorable she was. "Anyway, how was work?"

"Boring," I stated proudly with a shrug, shoving over a shit-ton of shopping bags so I could sit down on the edge of a bed. She opened her mouth, but I held up a hand to stop her. "I know, I know...boring is _good_."

"Well, as long as you know." She giggled, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. "I got you somethin'," she said, poking through a few bags to come out with black T-shirt. "Here, 'cause it seems I've completely stolen yours."

Laughing, I held it up. It was a brand new Batman T-shirt. "Hey, it kinda matches my tatt."

"I know!" she squealed happily. "I couldn't resist."

"Thanks, beautiful." I kissed her, but then shoved some bags over so that I could lean back against the headboard. "Come here. I've got something for you, too." Once she was situated between my legs, I handed her the manila envelope, saying, "I talked to Ben just after the bomb. He called to check on Jasper and me. We ended up talking for about an hour."

I swallowed nervously because I wasn't sure how she was going to take this news. Personally, it confirmed my suspicions, but Bella might see it as meddling.

"Anyway," I said with a small kiss to her cheek. "He and Angela are still planning on coming this way for the holidays. They're _so_ looking forward to meeting my new girlfriend." I smiled against her neck when she giggled. "But I asked him for a favor."

"What?" She started to open the envelope, but I stopped her.

"Wait, baby..." I sniffed once. "He brought me up to date with Volturi. It seems the family is already starting to disband. So that's good news, right?" I asked her.

"Really?"

"Yes, ma'am." I nodded against her shoulder. "So the favor I asked of him was to find someone. I needed to prove something to you. And he did a fuck-awesome job."

I ripped open the envelope and pulled out a few pictures and a piece of paper. Bella's gasp worried me, but then she snorted a little as she flipped through everything.

"The first time I heard about Mike Newton," I whispered against her cheek, "my first hope was that Karma was kicking his royal ass for doing what he did to you. My second thought was that I fucking _knew_ it was his problem, not yours. See?" I tapped the paper. "The motherfucker's been married and divorced three times – all stating irreconcilable differences. But here's why." I picked up the bottom picture and set it on top of everything else. "See that doctor's name?" I asked her, and she nodded. "He's an expert in erectile dysfunction."

I snorted when Bella gasped and turned to face me. "Shut up!" she gushed, her face turning a little pink.

Grinning, I tossed all that shit aside and cupped her beautiful face. "You were never, _ever_ the fucking problem. Do you hear me? You're gorgeous and passionate and absolutely the most loving thing I've ever seen. So tell me now that you believe me," I commanded, almost sounding angry, but I'd gotten my closure. It was important to me that Bella have hers.

She straddled my lap, smiling wickedly, but she picked up the stack of papers and held it up. "This didn't matter to me, Edward. There was a time that I believed the things he said, but..." She dropped the papers and kissed my lips. "With you, I'm whole."

I slipped my fingers into her hair at the base of her skull, pulling her in for a long, deep kiss. Fuck, I just loved this girl with ever fiber of my being. But what I loved most was that, together, we'd not only healed each other, but we'd also set each other free. There would be no more running.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: Now, you know I _really_ had to show them back at work. ;) Jenny and I just had to put one more bang in there. And I honestly couldn't resist an update on Mike Newton. LOL**

**Okay, so Wednesday's chapter will be the last regular chapter. There's still the epilogue and one outtake left to go. So yeah, we're almost done with this journey. Before you ask... No, there are no plans for a sequel.**

**Don't forget... Pictures are up on my blog & Jenny's site. Links are on our profile**

**My last fic rec for this story... _Salacious_ by cutestkidsmom. I was no expecting the wild ride that I took on this fic. It's a rollercoaster, for sure. Bring your big girl panties, too, because not everything is as it seems. It's probably one of the best Bellas I've ever read. She's strong, smart, and truly sharp, but she's also extremely loyal and level-headed. I liked her a lot. Before you read this, know that I would only rec you HEA and E&B pairing without cheating. Like I said, not everything is as it seems in that story.**

**Finally, Jenny and I both wrote something for the Fandom4Oklahoma compilation, so keep an eye out for our updates! Mine is an outtake for _Hard to Love_ (Bella's POV of the story), and Jenny's is a new one-shot written specifically for the compilation (based off Billy Gilman's song, "Oklahoma,") called _He Never Knew_. We'll both post them today!)**

**So we'll see you Wednesday for the update. Until then... Mooches, Deb :)**


	33. Chapter 33 - Epilogue

**A/N #1: This is it, guys. The epilogue to this little journey. It's all about glimpses into the future, so enjoy. See Deb at the bottom. – Jen**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 33 - Epilogue**

**Bella POV**

"I know you like the blue," I huffed, "but I like red."

Edward chuckled, holding up his hands in surrender. "Get what you want, beautiful. It's your car."

"Damn straight," I couldn't help but tease. I continued looking over the options, figuring out what extras I wanted. "What do you think about this?" I asked, pointing to one of the things not included in the base price.

He shook his head. "I don't see any need for it, really. Especially not here, where it rains so often."

Raising an eyebrow, I pursed my lips. "Hadn't thought of that. Okay, no sun roof. I think everything else is good. The biggest question, I suppose, is hybrid or no hybrid."

"You'll get more power out of the non-hybrid," Edward said, grinning.

"Mm..." I shook my head. "If I feel the need for power, I could borrow yours." His eyes darkened, making me smirk. "I'll spend less on gas with the hybrid, but it's more expensive."

Edward reached over and pulled my lower lip from my teeth. "Stop that, baby. You'll make it bleed." He put his hand out and tapped the paper. "Get the hybrid. You've got the down payment for it, it's not a significant cost difference per month, and you're right. You'll save a lot on gas."

After mulling it over for another minute, I decided he was right. "Okay, then. That's the one I want."

He grinned and motioned the salesman – "Call me Tom" – back over to his desk.

"Did you decide?" the eager, but very polite, Ford dealer asked once he'd reached us.

I nodded. "The Ford Fusion Hybrid in the deep red wine color," I told him, pointing to the 2012 model in the brochure in front of me.

"Excellent choice! I have one of those myself, actually. Bought it in March. My wife loves it because she doesn't have to fill it up as often."

Chuckling, I said, "Yeah, that's one of my main reasons for choosing this one."

For the next twenty minutes, I filled out more paperwork than seemed imaginable, and then Edward and I sat and waited while my financing was approved. I was antsy, but I'd been waiting a month to save up the money for the down payment. A few minutes more wouldn't kill me.

Ten minutes later, Tom came back to his desk, where we were talking quietly as we waited. "Well, Ms. Swan," he said, smiling. "Everything looks good. If you have the down payment, I have the keys."

I handed over the check, taking the keys from him. "Thank you," I said, clenching them in my fist.

It felt amazing having bought the car on my own, with money I'd earned. Edward had offered to help pay for it – in fact, he'd offered to just flat-out buy me a car – but I'd refused, needing to do it for myself. As much as I'd appreciated his offer, I needed to be in control of my life as much as possible, since so much had been out of my control for over a year.

Tom led us out to the front of the dealership, where my brand new car sat gleaming in the sunshine. "It's all yours," he announced, patting the top. "I know you'll love it."

Edward and I thanked him and waited for him to walk back inside before turning back to the car.

Wrapping his arms around me from behind, Edward leaned into me, giving me a long, open-mouthed kiss to the spot just below my ear before whispering, "Take me for a ride in the new car, baby."

I grinned, turning in his arms to kiss his lips quickly. "Oh, I'm gonna take you for a ride, Edward," I teased, waiting a moment for him to understand my meaning.

He smirked, his arms tightening around me as his eyes darkened again. "Minx," he growled playfully.

"C'mon, Batman. Let's get out of here. Surely we can find a deserted road or something."

Edward laughed, quickly ushering me over to the driver's door.

~oOo~

"Hang on tight, baby," Edward said as he started the bike's engine and backed us down the driveway to the street.

It was the middle of June, so my sundress was warm enough for the weather outside, but in deference to the cold air whipping around us when we rode the bike, I'd put on a denim jacket and a scarf. I clung tight to Edward's leather jacket, my thighs snug against his jeans-covered hips as he took off down the street. We were headed to Barb's Bar, which I knew would be a bit slower because it was only a Thursday. It was Edward's birthday, and he'd requested something fun and easy and low-key, which fit Barb's perfectly. We'd celebrate with the family on Sunday at dinner. Tonight was going to be just the four of us, along with Rose and Emmett, who'd asked Edward's parents to watch Emma for a few hours.

When he pulled to a stop at a light, Edward squeezed my arm and turned his head. "You okay?" he shouted so I could hear over the street noise and through our helmets.

I nodded and patted his stomach, letting him know I was fine. I'd become a pro at riding with him on his motorcycle, leaning with the turns and keeping my feet where they needed to be. As we started moving again, I tightened my arms around him, closing my eyes as I hugged him from behind. It was a powerful feeling, being on the bike with him – the rumble of the machine underneath me, my body pressed against Edward's, the wind rushing past. I'd loved it from the beginning, and if I had my way, he would teach me to drive it over the summer so I could get my own motorcycle license and eventually, maybe, get my own bike.

A few minutes later, we pulled up at Barb's and parked beside Jasper's truck, which was beside Emmett's Jeep. We climbed off and took off our helmets. Edward popped the door on Jasper's truck, and we tossed the helmets inside, and then he closed and locked the door again, taking my hand.

"Ready?" he asked, his eyes alight with happiness.

I nodded. "Mmhmm. Let's go let Barb give you some birthday kisses, handsome," I teased.

Edward laughed and opened the door. Immediately, loud music spilled out of the bar, along with the sounds of people playing pool and laughing.

All of a sudden, a loud clanging sounded from the front of the bar, and I laughed, looking at Edward's suddenly pink cheeks.

"Well, if it isn't the birthday boy," boomed Barb's loud voice from behind the bar. "Everybody give 'im a fuckin' cheer."

It was like the whole bar erupted at once. After a chorus of happy birthdays and clapping, someone shouted, "Birthday shot!"

"Harry's right," Barb said with a laugh, slamming a handful of empty shot glasses down on the bar in front of us as the rest of our friends and family joined us. "Birthday shots all around, on the house."

As the others greeted Edward and me, Barb rubbed the rim of each shot glass with lemon, then dipped them in sugar before pouring in some vodka and Frangelico. After passing out six slices of sugar-dipped lemon, she handed out the shots.

"Cheers," she said with a wink. "Happy fucking birthday, Edward."

He tipped his head at her, picking up his glass and holding it up. "Thanks, guys."

We grinned and all downed the shots before each biting into our lemons.

"God, that tastes just like birthday cake," Alice moaned, licking her lips.

"I know, right?" Rose said with a laugh. "Six beers on us," she told Barb, who nodded and began pulling out six glasses.

"Grab a table, ladies," Emmett said, gesturing over his shoulder. "We'll get these and be right behind you."

Alice, Rose, and I scooted around a few tables, saying hi to the few people we recognized, and grabbed a large booth at the back.

"That dress is so cute," Rose said as I took off my jacket.

I tucked the scarf into the pocket and smiled. "Thanks! Got it last weekend and thought it was perfect for tonight."

We chatted about our days and Emma, who was just about ready to take her first steps, until the guys got to the table.

"So Bella-boo, what'd you get our boy here, huh?" Emmett asked after we'd all shuffled seats.

Edward beamed as he set his jacket with mine on the back of the booth and then held up his arm for them to see. He'd needed a new watch for a while, and when we'd gone shopping the weekend before, he'd admired the one he was now sporting. I'd gone back the next day on my way home from work and gotten it to surprise him with for his birthday.

"I won't wanna wear it at work, but it's great for after and on the weekends," he said, holding his arm out when Rose reached across to pull it closer.

"Marc Jacobs," she said approvingly, nodding my way with a smile. "Nice, B."

I grinned, shrugging, before taking a sip of the beer Edward had set in front of me.

That wasn't his only gift, but he was going to have to wait for the others. One – two club seat season tickets for the next season of hockey to see the Seattle Thunderbirds – was from all of us, including his parents and Al, and he'd have to wait until Sunday at dinner to get them. It had been expensive, especially since I'd bought him the watch, too, but split between everyone, it had been doable, and we all knew he'd love it, especially since he could take any of the other guys with him each time.

His other gift was much cheaper – in fact, less than twenty-five bucks – but he had to wait until we got home to see it. The boyshort panties were black with yellow edging, and the bustier had a push-up bra, thin spaghetti straps, and yellow boning running up and down the front of the corset and around the cups, as well as yellow edging around the top and bottom. It had removable garters, which I would take off since I'd bought some sexy black high-heel boots to wear with it.

We listened and drank as Alice told a story about one of her little dancers who was so shy that every time Alice spoke to him, he blushed and tried to hide his face.

When there was a lull in the conversation and the music changed to something a little slower, Edward slid from the booth. "C'mon, baby," he said. "Dance with me?"

Nodding, I took his proffered hand, letting him guide me out of the booth and to the small dance floor in the middle of the room, which was fairly empty, with just a few couples besides the two of us. As he spun me into his arms to the opening sounds of Emeli Sande's "Read All About It," I watched the rest of them join us.

"You look beautiful," Edward murmured into my ear as he held me close.

I thanked him with a soft kiss, clutching at his shirt with my free hand as we swayed to the music.

We stayed like that through the end of the song, with his hand on my lower back, holding me against him. When the music picked back up, we continued dancing, laughing as the others moved closer and began to dance with us.

Slow songs and fast, with Edward and with the girls, I danced until my feet started hurting. I even danced with Emmett and Jasper, letting the girls take their turn with the birthday boy.

Finally, I collapsed in the booth, holding my hair off my neck, where I was warm and perspiring. "Whew, I'm done for a while."

"Yo, Ed," Jasper called as he and Alice approached the booth. "Let's play some pool, man."

Edward looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

Laughing, I waved him on. "Go, Edward. I'll be fine here with the girls." I tilted my head in Rose's direction as she slid into the booth beside Alice.

He nodded, leaned down to kiss me, and then scooted out to walk over with Jasper to the pool table Emmett had claimed.

Thirty minutes later, the guys came back to the table. Emmett looked gleeful, while Edward just smirked and shook his head when Rose leaned over and kissed Emmett, congratulating him on winning.

"Twice in a row," Edward grumbled teasingly.

I laughed and moved to my feet, taking his hand. "C'mon, poor thing. Let's dance some more and then go home." Leaning in, I raised up on my toes and whispered, "I've got a surprise for you at home."

He pulled away, his eyes dark, even in the dim light of the bar, and he nodded slowly. "Fuck yes. Please tell me it's lingerie."

Shrugging playfully, I led him to the dance floor, his rumbling growl echoing behind me as I laughed.

"Happy birthday to me," he purred into my ear as he wrapped his arms around me and moved us to the slow beat of the music.

~oOo~

Edward and I were curled up on his couch, watching a movie after having spent the afternoon out and about. It was late July, so the temperatures were beautiful, in the high seventies, but still, it had felt good to get inside after being in the sun all day. We'd eaten pizza for dinner and then lay down to watch a few movies since we didn't have to be up early the next day.

"Hey, B," he said during a quiet break in the action. "I have a question."

"Yeah?" I asked, rolling to my back so I could look up at him.

"Do you..." He huffed, shaking his head and closing his eyes before sighing and looking down at me again. "Your lease is up in a month, and...you know I love having you here. You're here most of the time anyway, right? You spend more time here than you do at your place, and when you do go there, I'm always with you anyway. Most of your stuff is here, and you come and go when you please, and—"

I stifled a giggle, interrupting. He was too cute, rambling on and stammering shyly. "Edward Cullen, are you asking if I wanna move in?"

When he nodded and started rambling again, I finally gave in to the laugh that bubbled up. "Yeah, I mean, do you think Alice would mind you leaving? She's never home, either, really. But do you think she would—"

"Breathe, Edward," I teased, reaching up to cup his face. "I think Jasper's gonna ask her to marry him and move in soon anyway. But even if he wasn't, she'd be fine with it. I've been hoping you'd ask, but I didn't wanna push."

"Yeah?" A grin lit up his face. "I wanted to give you time on your own, especially since you've had so much change in the last year and a half, but I really want you here. I want this to be _our_ house, not just my place."

I nodded, turning my head to press a kiss to his palm. "Yeah, definitely. I want that, too."

The movie was long forgotten as Edward moved over me, pressing me into the sofa with his body as we sealed our decision with long, wet kisses, roaming hands, and whispered promises of forever.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

The late August sun was bright as I rode slowly through my parents' neighborhood. The street was now lined with cars that hadn't always been a part of Sunday lunches. Alice's bug and Bella's little red Ford were parked right behind Rose's SUV. The sight made me happy, especially knowing that the next weekend, Bella would be moving into my house. Everything was falling into place.

I pulled my bike into the driveway and took off my helmet, smiling down at the passenger sitting in front of me as she took off her own.

"That was so much fun, Edward! Again!" Katie gushed, her blond hair windblown and wild.

Chuckling, I shook my head no. "No can do, Sparkplug," I said with a laugh. "Your dad'll kill me. He has to get you back to your mom."

"Aw, please?" she begged, and I grinned again with a shake to my head. "Okay, okay, okay, but what about when I come back for Thanksgiving? Then?"

"We'll see," I grunted, planting a foot on the concrete and stepping off the bike. "C'mon," I told her, lifting her up off the thing and setting her down on her feet.

She ran inside while I grabbed the bag of groceries Mom had needed. It was why we'd gone out in the first place. She'd run out of eggs and tomatoes, so I'd just taken Katie with me, never mind Al's evil glare he'd flashed my way. Stepping through the house, I set the bag on the counter.

"Here, Mom. Where is everyone?"

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "And they're outside with Ladybug, who's discovered bubbles. It's serious business."

Grinning, I peeked out through the window. Dad, Emmett, Uncle Al, and Jasper were kicked back on the deck as Alice, Bella, and now Katie sat in the shade of a tree, showing Emma how to blow bubbles. The baby girl was a walking, chattering ball of energy these days. She had Emmett's mischievous smile and attitude, Rose's sweet blond curls, and chunky little legs that never seemed to stop unless she was asleep.

"Bet the girls never thought they'd be doing that in New York," I heard behind me, and I spun so fast that I almost lost my footing.

"What'd you just say?" I asked slowly, carefully, my eyes narrowing on my sister, who was giving my mother a knowing smirk.

"C'mon, Edward," Rose scoffed with a laugh.

My heart plummeted, and I shook my head. "I'm gonna fucking kill Emmett," I seethed, starting to walk past her, but she stopped me.

"Hey, wait, it wasn't Em," she said, all teasing gone. "We kinda...figured it out."

I looked to my mother and then back to my sister, and for once, I wasn't sure what to say. My family knowing was bad. Really bad.

"Edward," my mom soothed, walking around the counter. "It's my fault. I just mentioned that you'd changed way before you came home. I noticed it when we talked to you on the computer."

"Yeah, you looked off the camera wearing the same expression you give Bella," Rose finished. "We put two and two together, what with that big trial in New York—"

"Stop!" I snapped in a hiss. "You can't know! You two have no fucking idea what your knowing could do!" I gripped my hair hard. "If you say the words aloud, they're gone and...and I'm gone. Jasper's gone. Do you understand? It's really important that you _don't know_, because we can't come back, but I can't _not _go with her." Looking between them, I sagged, resorting to begging. "Please, I love you both, but if you say anything to anyone, it's over. I've got to take her. And I don't want to do that, but she's..." I glanced out the window to see how happy Bella was watching Ladybug pop bubbles between two chubby hands. Finally, looking to Mom and Rose again, I sighed and shrugged. "I love her. I go where she goes."

They were quiet, both now looking a touch heartbroken, but I couldn't put it any other way. It was the facts of life when I'd chosen to be with Bella. Uncle Al had warned Jasper and me way back in Forks. We couldn't allow anything to compromise Alice's and Bella's identities. To be with them meant that we were subject to the same WitSec rules. Despite the fact that most of Caius Volturi's men were being found floating in the Hudson River, Alice and Bella Swan could not be exposed as Mary and Marie Brandon, the witnesses that put one of the biggest mafia bosses behind bars for murder, where he eventually got himself killed.

"Are they in danger?" Mom asked, looking out the window.

"The heat's off them, if that's what you're asking, but if word got out that the witnesses in that case are here..."

"You'd really leave us?" Mom asked, tears welling up in her eyes when I nodded slowly and sadly.

"Would you leave to protect Dad?" I countered, not knowing any other way to put it to get them to understand how serious this was.

"Okay," Rose stated firmly, raising her hands in surrender. "We don't know anything."

Swallowing nervously, I looked to my mother. "Please," I pleaded in barely a whisper.

Mom reached up and pushed my hair from my forehead. "They're a part of the family now, Edward. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my family safe."

My knees practically buckled in relief, but I kissed my mom's forehead. "Thank you," I sighed against her brow.

Suddenly, I couldn't get to Bella quickly enough. I stormed through the house, out the back door, and onto the cool green grass of my parents' backyard. Falling down on the blanket next to Bella, I kissed the side of her head. Hard.

Her sharp eyes landed on my face, her brow furrowing. "What's wrong?"

Shaking my head, I said, "Nothing. It's all good, beautiful."

"Unca Eddurrd," my niece babbled, making me smile. "Buggles! Catch!"

The little munchkin made me smile, and I was pretty damn sure she knew she had me wrapped around her chubby pinky finger – if only because she lit up like a fucking Christmas tree every time she saw me.

"C'mere and show me, Ladybug." I waved her over, and she scrambled up into my lap.

Bella giggled and then blew a multitude of bubbles in a long string, making Emma squeal and clap at them in order to catch them.

Smiling, I leaned over to Bella, placing a kiss to her neck. "I love you," I sighed, inhaling the scent of her. "And I can't wait for next weekend." Moving Bella in was something I couldn't wait to do, something I'd never done with anyone else, and it was making me almost stupidly happy.

"Me, either," she whispered back, turning her head to kiss me, but we both jumped when a small chubby hand smacked the side of my face, sufficiently popping a soapy bubble on me. Everyone cracked the fuck up.

"Up, Unca Eddurrd!" Emma commanded, pointing to some bubbles that were too high for her to reach. "Get 'em!"

Standing up with her in my arms, I growled into her neck, which made her squeal. "Yes, ma'am!" I grunted, swinging her around so that she was able to catch the rogue bubbles, because what Ladybug wanted, Ladybug got.

~oOo~

Opening the doors to my shed, I stacked a few broken-down boxes off to the side. The sun was still high in the sky, but it felt like we'd been going for days. Moving Jasper in and Bella out of Betty's house had been a painful process – emotionally and physically.

Physically, because Jasper had way too much shit, and we all told him so, but the only one he'd listen to was Alice. I was pretty damn sure most of his stuff wasn't going to make it out of the garage, much less into the house.

The emotional part came when it was time for Bella to actually leave with her stuff. The two sisters had spent the last week dividing up things they'd never thought they'd have to give up. It wasn't unlike a divorce. They'd been living together as best friends, roommates...twins for so long that separating was completely new...and hard.

Reaching back, I gripped the back of my shirt, yanking it off over my head and using it to wipe the sweat from my face. It was the first week of September, and despite the fact that fall would soon be cooling things off, it was hot. Damn hot.

I spun around and walked to the back porch to grab another stack of boxes, only to see Bella standing at the top of the steps, dropping another box onto the stack. My eyes raked over her, and I let out a deep breath at how fucking gorgeous she was. She always looked sexy, whether dressed up for work or when we went out, but seeing her standing there in a tank top and ragged jeans that were torn up in the knee made me want to do dirty, wicked things to her. It didn't help that those damn jeans were so low that the very tip of her ink peeked out just above the waistband.

"Last box," she said as I tossed my shirt onto the porch railing. "At least it's more boxes than when I moved to Seattle." She grinned, shrugging a shoulder.

Smirking up at her from the bottom of the steps, I could see there was a touch of sadness in that statement. I couldn't fault her for it. Ever. She'd not only changed her entire identity a year prior, but she'd just separated from the only family she had left. And while Alice and Bella would've eventually moved away from each other, the reality still hurt.

"It's just stuff, B," I told her, holding out my hands, and she set a stack of the flattened cardboard in my hands, keeping a stack for herself and following me out to the shed. Once we'd put them with the others, I closed the door. "If I have anything to say about it, this'll be the last move you ever do." I shrugged a shoulder, grinning over at her. "So, fuck the amount of boxes," I stated simply, pointing toward the house. "What's inside there is yours now, too."

I meant that shit. _Stuff_ didn't matter to me. Having Bella move in... That mattered. I'd tried to share my life with someone a long time ago, but they hadn't been the right person. There was no doubt in my mind that Bella was, indeed, the right person. And I didn't give a flying fuck whether we were living in my house or a tent in the damn woods; she was there.

We walked back to the porch and up the steps, and I squeezed her hand. "One great, big fucking box, yeah?" I teased, but before I could blink, I was pressed back into the wall of the house with a ravenous brunette practically climbing up my body.

I gave in instantly, my hands securing themselves into her hair. My dick perked up, and he pressed hard against my jeans because he'd been eye-fucking her all damn day. Reaching down, I cupped her ass and picked her up, spinning around to press her into the wall. Strong legs wrapped around my waist and fingers slipped into my hair as Bella turned her head to kiss the ever-loving shit out of me.

Hands went everywhere – cupping, pinching, kneading. Tongues swirled, but Bella was almost dominating. For a moment, I forgot where we were, what we were doing, and finally, I just reached for her tank top, shoving it up. I wanted skin. I wanted _her_. And the sooner the better.

"Edward," I heard all breathy and shit in my ear. "Wait, we're outside."

Pulling back, I licked my lips and bit down on the bottom one. "No one can see you," I panted, nipping at her mouth. "Big, tall fences, and we're around the corner out of sight," I told her, kissing her chin, her jaw, and finally, the sweaty skin just below her ear.

"But...I'm sweaty, Edward...no..." she whined adorably.

Grinning, I pulled back to gaze up at her. "So am I. And you've never complained before."

She huffed a sexy laugh, shaking her head, both hands capturing either side of my face. "No, never. I just..." She kissed me softly, sweetly. "Thank you."

"I love you," I said back, shrugging a shoulder and leaning in to kiss her again. I knew what she was thanking me for, so I didn't need to ask. Dragging my lips and tongue to her ear, I whispered, "Besides, you shouldn't thank me yet, beautiful. I'm a pain in the ass to live with."

Her giggle was sweet and light, but so very sexy. "No one can see us? Really?"

The moan I let out was shameless and wanton, but I pressed into her, grinding just enough to cause her breathing to hitch. Her fingers clutched my shoulders, but her eyes were dark fire, gazing back at me with a wicked expression.

"Nope. Not a fucking soul." My eyes stayed locked with hers as I pushed at her tank top again, gathering it up underneath her arms. "You want this here?" I asked, hoping and praying she said yes.

"I'm still sweaty."

"I still don't fucking care."

When her arms lifted, I didn't waste any time tugging that shirt off her, and her bra was next. Dropping it to the porch floor, my hands went back to her ass, and my eyes raked over every inch of exposed skin before I leaned in to take her nipple in my mouth. I pressed myself fully into her until she hissed at the feel of the roughness behind her.

Pulling her off the wall, I didn't go any farther than the chaise lounger before pressing her into it. Hands fumbled and fought with buttons and zippers, kisses were dropped on random spots of bare skin, and finally, I sat back enough to yank those sexy-as-hell, tight-ass ripped jeans off her, along with her underwear. We weren't even going to make it into the house, so my jeans definitely were not a priority. Bella shoved them down just enough to get to my dick and guide it to her entrance.

"Now, now, now," she chanted through gritted teeth. Her head fell back, pressed into the cushion, and her eyes rolled back. "Unngh," she cried out, almost in relief.

"Fuck, yes," I hissed when I slid completely inside her, squeezing my eyes closed as my forehead fell to her shoulder. "Goddamn, I've wanted you like this all fucking day, baby," I grumbled into her neck.

"I know," she moaned sexily against the skin of my shoulder. "Me, too. I just...wanted you here, at home."

Pulling back, I dropped my forehead to hers as I started to move slowly. "Fuck, that sounds good, Bella. _H__ome_."

My eyes could barely stay away from hers as I loved her slowly. What started out frenzied suddenly turned into something definitive, something groundbreaking. When I'd first laid eyes on the beautiful girl beneath me, I'd been so angry and so alone for so long that my walls refused to budge, but I couldn't imagine life without her. She'd put her trust in me to keep her safe, and I had; I'd continue to do it. Now she was trusting me with her heart, and as the sun set slowly on us on my back porch, I knew that was infinitely more important, more fragile. And I'd spend the rest of my life making sure she didn't regret it.

**~oOo~**

**A/N #2: That's it. Technically, this is now complete. We do have an outtake for you guys, which we'll post on Sunday. It's small glimpses that just didn't fit into the epi, actually.**

**We're aware that Bella's choice of dress on the bike wasn't exactly all that smart, but we just had to use the awesome manip that Beffers87 put together for us. In fact, we need to thank both her and Mimi Holmes for all the amazing and tedious work they did for us for _In Pursuit_. Every manip, every tattoo, every blip Jen and I had on the radar, they came through with a laugh and a "sure, no prob," and they produced some of the best pics, manips, and banners I've ever seen.**

**I also need to thank all my pre-readers – Jules, GooberLou, and inkedupmom. Without you guys asking the tough questions, this would've been filled with holes and mistakes.**

**A huge thank you from Jenny and me to MsKathy for betaing this for us. I'm sure it wasn't an easy undertaking, and she asked even tougher questions to make us truly think through what we'd written.**

**To Jen, I give a big hug, a high five, and a booty shake that we survived this fic! LOL I love you and thank you for making this so much fun. I can't imagine co-writing with anyone else. MWAH!**

**Last, I want to thank you guys. Everyone that read, reviewed, lurked, chatted with us on FB and Twitter, voted for us when we were up for something, guessed, betted, theorized, laughed, and cried with us. You've made this a helluva fun ride and totally worth it all. You've kept our sanity together. THANK YOU! :)**

**Put us on alert if you must, but for those that have asked us to write together again, the answer is…you never know. When it came to _Coming Home_ and _In Pursuit_, these were plot bunnies that just couldn't be ignored, nor could they have been written alone. They BOTH started out as "what if," and with as much as Jenny and I talk, it's probably bound to happen again.**

**[Note from Jenny: I want to echo every bit of Deb's thanks to everyone she mentioned. MsKathy was a trooper, working on this when she could spare a moment in her crazy hectic life, and we appreciated it more than words could say. And if Beffy and Meems don't know how much we love and appreciate them both, then I dunno what to say, because we smothered them in so many kisses and hugs that they are covered in 'em. ;) And you guys, our readers, rock. Authors always say they have the best readers in the world, and honestly, I think we all mean it. We truly have loved reading every word you've written to us and about us. So thank you. :) ****And Deb, words can't express how much your friendship means to me. Every day we chat or write or read means the world. I love you bunches, babe. – Jen****]**

**Until next time… Mooches, Deb :)**


	34. Chapter 34 - Outtake

**Chapter 34 – Outtake**

**Bella POV**

_Hey, B. Can you swing by the house after work? Ali has a late class today, and I need to talk to you. ~J_

I read Jasper's text again, still without an idea of what he could want, and then quickly typed out a reply.

_Yeah, sure. I'll get off at 5, so 5:15 or so work? Umm, nothing's wrong with Edward, right? ~B_

Setting my phone down, I went back to typing up the report I was in the middle of. When my phone dinged again to alert me to a new message, I saved the finished report, fired it off to Sarah, the manager for that particular account, and then looked at Jasper's reply.

_No, Bella, not at all. Sorry. Didn't mean to worry you. ;) Just after 5 is perfect. Thanks, darlin'. ~J_

All morning, I wondered about what Jasper wanted. When I called Edward at lunch, I decided to ask.

"Hey, beautiful," he sighed, and I heard a solid thump, as if he'd sat down hard in his chair.

Laughing softly, I asked, "Long morning?"

"Damn, you don't even know the fucking half of it," he grumbled. "Jasper's head's been in the clouds all day, and because of it, I got covered in sludge and slime and all kinds of nasty shit I don't even wanna think about."

I groaned, shaking my head and wondering if that had anything to do with why he wanted to see me. "Poor thing," I commiserated. "What happened?"

"We were working with the local PD to raid a house where a federal witness was suspected to be holed up, and the asshole – Jasper, I mean, not the witness – forgot to check a closet in the kitchen. Said he figured it was just a pantry or some shit. It was, but the fucking thing was empty, if you don't count the witness's girlfriend, who was hiding in there with a bucket of sewage or compost or something. I didn't stick around long enough to find out."

Unable to help myself, I laughed out loud, imagining Edward covered head to toe in garbage.

"Bella!" He huffed before giving in to his own chuckle. "Seriously, it was nasty. She threw it all over me. Thank fuck I had a change of clothes and a towel in the truck, 'cause there was no way I was driving anywhere covered in that shit. As it was, it needs a good cleaning, 'cause even though I got most of it off before going anywhere, I still stunk and still had the stuff on my shoes and everything. Fucker's gonna take care of it this afternoon if I have to march him down there myself."

I giggled and then mused aloud, "Wonder if that has anything to do with the text he sent me this morning."

"Text? What'd it say?"

I read him the message from Jasper and said, "He sent it first thing this morning, though, so it would've been before the..._incident._"

Edward hummed a noncommittal sound. "Dunno, baby. Guess you'll find out. Want me to meet you there?"

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "Nah, I'm sure it's nothing. Probably just wants to ask what to get Alice for her birthday."

April tenth was coming up in a few weeks, the second...new birthday we would celebrate since moving to Seattle. Edward was being all secretive with plans, but if I had to guess, we were going to catch the Ed Sheeran concert. When I first heard he was coming to town, I made a big deal about wanting to go see him, but Edward had said he would look into getting tickets, and I never heard anything more from him about it. Alice had said I should just trust him, so I was.

"Maybe," he said. "Okay, baby. I gotta run and meet with Al about a prisoner transport we're needed for next week. I'll see you when you get home, okay?"

Even though we'd been living together six months already, it still gave me a thrill to know home meant the same place for both of us. I said, "See you then. Love you."

"Love you too, beautiful."

We hung up and I pocketed my phone in my slacks before leaving the office for the cafeteria.

~oOo~

It still felt...odd going into the house I'd shared with Alice for a year that she now shared with Jasper. The first time I'd come over after moving out, I'd knocked and waited for one of them to come to the door. Jasper had looked at me like I was being silly and said next time, just to come on in. Of course, the first time I'd done that, I'd walked in on the two of them in a position none of us were comfortable with me seeing, so from then on, I'd made a point to knock and then call out before actually walking inside. Seeing Jasper's naked ass once as he leaned over my sister was more than enough.

Knocking, I opened the door and called out, waiting for Jasper's all-clear.

"Come in, darlin'," he called from just inside the house.

When I stepped inside, I saw him sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees. He looked up and smiled, although he looked almost sick to his stomach.

Setting my bag down on the chair, I sat down beside him on the couch and turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Spill it, garbage man."

He barked a laugh, shaking his head. "He told you about this morning, huh?"

I nodded. "Yes indeed. I figured whatever had you distracted this morning is why I'm here, so..."

With a huff, he scrubbed a hand over his face, raking his fingers through his hair before digging into his pocket. When he opened his hand, there was a small black box.

Gasping, I covered my mouth with my hand and felt my eyes widen so much that I was afraid my eyebrows might've disappeared into my hairline. When he didn't say anything, I couldn't resist teasing him. "Jazzy, is this your way of asking me to marry you?"

Jasper smirked and shook his head, using his thumb to pop up the lid, showing off the beautiful diamond ring inside.

I reached over and took it from him, pulling the ring out so I could see it better. The four princess-cut diamonds formed the center of the ring. Another princess-cut diamond sat on either side of the middle, and along the sides of the white gold band were three round diamonds, as well. It was beautiful, and it was just Alice's style. As chic as she liked to dress, she liked her jewelry understated, not ostentatious.

"It's perfect, Jasper," I said, putting it back in the box and handing it back to him. "She'll love it."

"You think so?" He fiddled with the box, turning it over and over in his hands nervously. "I know she doesn't want anything huge, but you don't think this is too small? I mean, they're great quality, and I know she likes the princess-cut, but—"

"No buts," I told him, shaking my head. "It's just the right thing for her."

He blew out a breath, nodding. "I know it's not traditional. I mean, you aren't her father. But you're her only family—if your dad were around, I'd ask him, but he's not. So I thought..."

I chuckled. "You don't need my permission, or blessing, or whatever you were looking for, to ask my sister to marry you, Jasper. She's a grown woman with a mind of her own. But I will say that I would be honored to call you my brother."

He pulled me into a fierce hug. "Thanks, Bella. That means a lot."

Jasper hadn't talked much about his family, other than to say they'd had a falling out years before and he didn't speak to them now. I knew he had both a younger sister and brother, and I knew sometimes it weighed on him. If I could help fill that role more formally than I already did, I was glad to do it.

"When are you gonna ask her?" I asked once he'd released me and sat back to stick the ring back in his jeans pocket.

"Birthday, if I can wait that long." Smiling wryly, he said, "Of course, I'm not sure I _should_ wait, given what happened this morning at work. If something like that happens again, Edward'll kill me."

Giggling, I nodded. "Yeah, maybe not." I winked and then stood. "Speaking of, I think I'm gonna head home. I think I'll suggest to him that he needs another shower...and then I'll tell him I'm gonna join him. That'll make it better."

Jasper laughed, standing to walk me to the door. "That it will, B." He smiled, holding the door open for me so I could step outside. "Thanks for coming over and reassuring me."

I shrugged, smiling. "No problem. Just go with your heart, Jas. That's all she wants."

He was quiet as I climbed into the car, and then he shut the door once I'd pulled back onto the street.

As I drove home to Edward, I thought about our future. Did I want to marry him? Absolutely. Was it something I wanted right that moment? Not particularly, although I'd never say no if he asked. But I'd been through so many changes in the last couple of years that I was enjoying just...being. What we had was good. I loved him, he loved me, and we were happy. That was enough for now.

~oooOOOooo~

**Edward POV**

"She's too far," I said, starting to get up from the bench.

"Edward, baby, she's _right there_," Bella argued with a laugh, but rolled her eyes. When I glared her way, she simply raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. I'm getting a hot dog. Want one?"

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, not really listening, because my eyes were on blond curls that seemed to be too far, but Ladybug was an independent little thing at just under two years old.

The park was pretty packed. It was a rare sunny Sunday, so it seemed the whole city was out enjoying it. Apparently, my sister could still get me to do whatever she wanted. And she'd wanted a weekend with Emmett. Alone. My parents couldn't take Emma that weekend, so it had fallen on Bella and me. We'd had her since Friday night, and I was worn the fuck out. I used to be able to party all night and still function, but this was different. Hanging with an almost two-year-old made me a multi-tasking bastard and, obviously, an over-protective uncle.

Bella snickered at me, got up, and dropped a kiss to the top of my head. "You're so cute. Just go get her, Edward. The vein in your forehead looks like it'll pop any second."

Gazing up at her, I sighed. "I'm that bad, huh?" I asked, smiling when she chuckled at me.

We'd been living together just about nine months, and I could totally tell when she was placating me. She did it all the fucking time. I knew I drove her crazy and that we weren't perfect, but it had been the best nine fucking months of my life.

"You wanna keep her safe. There's nothing wrong with that. I'll be right back." She spun around, dodging a few little kids playing on the playground.

Unable to take it any longer, I got up from the bench and walked closer to Emma. She'd been playing in the sandbox, but had found the big statues fascinating and had wandered over. She still had the cutest chunky legs, big bright blue eyes, and a giggle that I lived to bring out of her. Standing there in a little blue and green sundress that Bella had dressed her in, she was barefoot.

"Hey, Ladybug, what'cha doin'?" I asked, kneeling beside her. "And where's your shoes?"

She ignored my question, pointing to the statue. "Big fwog, Unca Eddurd," she stated firmly.

"Shoes, Ems...where'd ya leave 'em?" I chuckled, shaking my head when she pointed to the sandbox. "Gotcha," I growled, snagging her up dramatically so she squealed into a laugh. "Say bye to the frog, Ladybug."

"Bye, bye, fwoggie!" she yelled with a laugh, giggling again when I held her upside down in order for her to grab her shoes out of the sand.

I set her back down on the bench, brushing off sand and kneeling to put her sandals back on, but I looked up when Bella sat beside us. She broke off a piece of hot dog and offered it to Emma, who took it instantly like a big baby bird – mouth open, hums of happiness, and grabby hands.

And fuck, if it didn't all fall over me at once. I wanted that, but I wanted something more, something of my own, something that was a perfect blend of me and Bella. A fantasy of two brunettes in my life ran through my mind like the wind, and despite how tiring taking care of Emma had been the past few days, I wanted it so badly that my chest hurt.

"Here, baby," Bella offered the extra hot dog to me once Emma's shoes were back on. "You okay? You're pale as a sheet. Did she scare you again by running off?"

"Hmm? No," I answered softly, watching as she shared another bite with Ladybug. Looking between them, I finally looked to Bella. "I want this. _This_," I whispered, gesturing around us and between the three of us stupidly, like that would make sense. "Everything. Do you? I mean...have you..."

Bella thankfully took pity on me, smiling sweetly and cupping my face. "Relax, Edward. Yes, I've thought about those things, and yes, I want them. I wanted them the first time I saw you talk to Ladybug on the computer the day she was born. I knew I loved you with an insanity right then."

Nodding, I didn't say anything, but I leaned forward and kissed her once. Taking the hot dog Bella had bought me, I ate it in large bites in order to stuff down what I was feeling. It was almost overwhelming. But I smiled when Ladybug sat up and wiped away the ketchup from my face.

Bella giggled, which made Emma giggle, and I was done for. We cleaned her up and got ready to leave, and then I scooped Ladybug up and set her on my shoulders, reaching for Bella's hand as we walked out to the parking lot. Once Emma was secure in her car seat, I turned to find Bella standing right behind me.

"Hey," she whispered, placing her hands on either side of my face. "You're really good at this, and if it's something you want, we can talk about it. Don't let it freak you out. It's okay to want it."

I sagged in relief, because I knew there was a step in between that still needed to be approached before we even discussed a family of our own, but I looked at her gratefully.

"I wanna talk about it," I stated, sweeping my lips across hers. "I wanna talk about _everything_ with you."

She smiled so sweetly that it almost hurt to watch, but she kissed me back. "We will. But first, Miss Ladybug here needs to go back to her parents so that we can do really naughty things back at home without having to worry. You've spoiled her, and now you can spoil me."

Grinning, I leaned in and kissed her neck. "Oh, and I will. I'll do my best."

She giggled, pushing back a little. "You always do, Edward."

**~oOo~**

**A/N: This is it, guys. We hope you enjoyed the look into their not-too-distant future. It was a big thing, a huge step, for Edward to voice what he wants, that next step, wanting more with her...for him to listen and stay calm when his own thoughts were freaking him out. That simply proves how far he's come. And at that point, you know where their future is heading. You can go away from here imagining the proposal, wedding, and babies in the perfect way that fits these characters. :)**

**Thank you one last time for all the kind words and the love you've given this fic. We love the way you all embraced these characters, even when they were acting like...well, jackasses. ;) We're so humbled and feel so overwhelmed sometimes by the support.**

**This is the end for Marshalward – no, there will be no sequel, sorry. ;) – but we're sure that, if the plot bunnies bite, we'll be back. And regardless of whether or not we do another co-fic, we'll each find SOMETHING to write about separately! :) Much love and mooches... – Deb & Jen :)**


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